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2016-11-28 8:29 AM
in reply to: mdg2003

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?
Sad to report that no, I didn't eat snake on a stick either. The thought of getting sick or being sick on that long a** plane ride home did not appeal to me. They did have squid and octopus skewers that tempted me more than anything. I passed on those too. Chestnuts were plentiful as were tons of other foods in this market area. We did settle on a nice dumpling shop for a soup and dumplings lunch. It was so funny, after we sat at a table, other diners moved their tables and chairs around so they could watch us eat. My oldest didn't disappoint them. She chucked the chopsticks and ate dumplings with her fingers. That seemed amuse our fellow diners.

Back to those scorpions. The ones on the skewers that are standing up are actually still alive. All crawly and menacing looking!


2016-11-28 10:28 AM
in reply to: mdg2003

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?

Great pics!

I was there in the early 90's and your photo's brought it all back. 

2016-11-28 10:30 AM
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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?

Great pictures - glad to see you saw a lot of cool things!

My sister and her family lived in China and now live in Hong Kong.  You can image the interest in little girls with long blond hair. They must be the subject of 1000s of pictures in Chinese photo albums at this point.  Your tall girls were quite the "sight" I am sure.

I am not sure you can claim travel weariness/jet lag when you flew in first class!  Nice!



Edited by BikerGrrrl 2016-11-28 10:31 AM
2016-11-29 10:48 AM
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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?
The air quality in Beijing really is an issue. We had beautiful weather and good air. The clear one is the day we arrived. The day we left you can see how bad the air really is. Looks like an overcast rainy day, but it isn't. Like I posted earlier, there was even hazy crud inside the terminal building.

Edited by mdg2003 2016-11-29 10:51 AM




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2016-11-29 11:04 AM
in reply to: mdg2003

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?

Originally posted by mdg2003
Originally posted by crowny2

Originally posted by mdg2003 No, this will be our first trip.

It may be too late but if you want to get one of the best, if not THE best meal in the city try to go to Black Sesame.  http://blacksesamekitchen.com/  The food is ridiculously good.

 

And if you want some fun, go for a night bike ride at Bike Beijing.  http://www.bikebeijing.com/  The wife and I did it and it was fantastic.  Ask for Fiona to be your guide if possible.

 

Have fun.

Not sure if we'll get in the bike ride, but I'm going to try to make that red braised pork belly happen! Thanks for the links!

Were you able to make it to Black Sesame?  Yes, that red braised pork belly was so good it actually converted two vegetarian's in our group.  I am NOT lying. 

2016-11-29 11:42 AM
in reply to: crowny2

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?
Originally posted by crowny2

Originally posted by mdg2003
Originally posted by crowny2

Originally posted by mdg2003 No, this will be our first trip.

It may be too late but if you want to get one of the best, if not THE best meal in the city try to go to Black Sesame.  http://blacksesamekitchen.com/  The food is ridiculously good.

 

And if you want some fun, go for a night bike ride at Bike Beijing.  http://www.bikebeijing.com/  The wife and I did it and it was fantastic.  Ask for Fiona to be your guide if possible.

 

Have fun.

Not sure if we'll get in the bike ride, but I'm going to try to make that red braised pork belly happen! Thanks for the links!

Were you able to make it to Black Sesame?  Yes, that red braised pork belly was so good it actually converted two vegetarian's in our group.  I am NOT lying. 




Sad to report that we did not make it to the Black Sesame. I got outvoted when it came to eating. The girls loved those pork dumplings so much, that was all they wanted to eat. We stayed at the Grand hyatt and had access to the club lounge; we ate a lot of stuff there because it was so convenient. They laid out a full breakfast and a pretty substantial evening buffet that featured chinese and western options. Dumplings were available at both serving times!

But hey, my visa is good for 10 years and I get free airfare, so I can still make it happen!


2016-11-29 12:04 PM
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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?
The Olympic swimming arena. The iconic birds nest. View of the Forbidden City from my hotel room. Pretty amazing site. New tower the locals call the nails. Guide told us beijing is gearing up for another Olympics in the 2020’s. I haven’t looked up to see if he was accurate or not, but they put the Oly rings on top of the building. Next two are the Chingling tomb. Those posts in picture with the emperor are solid wood. Our guide tells us the basically wiped forests off the face of the earth building these tombs and temples for the emperors. A shopping area near the hotel and another Changling tomb. Sorry again that my photos have no specific order, I just mass uploaded and that’s how they sorted out.

Edited by mdg2003 2016-11-29 12:12 PM




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2016-11-30 12:11 PM
in reply to: mdg2003

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?

Thanks for sharing all these pictures. Looks like a really amazing trip!

2016-12-01 2:11 PM
in reply to: mdg2003

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?

Originally posted by mdg2003
Originally posted by crowny2

Originally posted by mdg2003
Originally posted by crowny2

Originally posted by mdg2003 No, this will be our first trip.

It may be too late but if you want to get one of the best, if not THE best meal in the city try to go to Black Sesame.  http://blacksesamekitchen.com/  The food is ridiculously good.

 

And if you want some fun, go for a night bike ride at Bike Beijing.  http://www.bikebeijing.com/  The wife and I did it and it was fantastic.  Ask for Fiona to be your guide if possible.

 

Have fun.

Not sure if we'll get in the bike ride, but I'm going to try to make that red braised pork belly happen! Thanks for the links!

Were you able to make it to Black Sesame?  Yes, that red braised pork belly was so good it actually converted two vegetarian's in our group.  I am NOT lying. 

Sad to report that we did not make it to the Black Sesame. I got outvoted when it came to eating. The girls loved those pork dumplings so much, that was all they wanted to eat. We stayed at the Grand hyatt and had access to the club lounge; we ate a lot of stuff there because it was so convenient. They laid out a full breakfast and a pretty substantial evening buffet that featured chinese and western options. Dumplings were available at both serving times! But hey, my visa is good for 10 years and I get free airfare, so I can still make it happen!

Do it.  Seriously do it.  It is SOOOOOOOOO good.  And the place is really quite pretty too.  But you have to know how to get there.  It is down an alley of one of the hutongs.  And when you get there you would swear you are going to the wrong place, but you aren't.

 

China was interesting.  I don't know if I want to go back.  I was there and Shanghai last year for a week total.  Maybe Shanghai. 

You took some great photo's and looks like you had tons of fun.  And I'm jealous of the first class digs you got on the flight.  I was back in Economy Plus on United.

2016-12-02 11:50 AM
in reply to: crowny2

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?
Originally posted by crowny2

Originally posted by mdg2003
Originally posted by crowny2

Originally posted by mdg2003
Originally posted by crowny2

Originally posted by mdg2003 No, this will be our first trip.

It may be too late but if you want to get one of the best, if not THE best meal in the city try to go to Black Sesame.  http://blacksesamekitchen.com/  The food is ridiculously good.

 

And if you want some fun, go for a night bike ride at Bike Beijing.  http://www.bikebeijing.com/  The wife and I did it and it was fantastic.  Ask for Fiona to be your guide if possible.

 

Have fun.

Not sure if we'll get in the bike ride, but I'm going to try to make that red braised pork belly happen! Thanks for the links!

Were you able to make it to Black Sesame?  Yes, that red braised pork belly was so good it actually converted two vegetarian's in our group.  I am NOT lying. 

Sad to report that we did not make it to the Black Sesame. I got outvoted when it came to eating. The girls loved those pork dumplings so much, that was all they wanted to eat. We stayed at the Grand hyatt and had access to the club lounge; we ate a lot of stuff there because it was so convenient. They laid out a full breakfast and a pretty substantial evening buffet that featured chinese and western options. Dumplings were available at both serving times! But hey, my visa is good for 10 years and I get free airfare, so I can still make it happen!

Do it.  Seriously do it.  It is SOOOOOOOOO good.  And the place is really quite pretty too.  But you have to know how to get there.  It is down an alley of one of the hutongs.  And when you get there you would swear you are going to the wrong place, but you aren't.

 

China was interesting.  I don't know if I want to go back.  I was there and Shanghai last year for a week total.  Maybe Shanghai. 

You took some great photo's and looks like you had tons of fun.  And I'm jealous of the first class digs you got on the flight.  I was back in Economy Plus on United.




I'm on the fence too as to whether I will return to China. If we do go back, Beijing will probably not be our destination. It was ultimately just another big city; complete with traffic, congestion and a bunch of big buildings. I'd need to research some other historical sites and natural outdoor destinations that are near the other cities we fly to. The people we met seemed to be genuinely warm, sincere and accommodating. As such, I'd like to get off the beaten path some and get a little more immersed in the culture, if that makes sense. I know Hong Kong won't fit the bill, maybe Xi'an. At any rate, the far East is off the list for now, my wife is back to researching Iceland! We'd planned to go last summer, but never made it. She's always planning our next trip...
2016-12-02 2:11 PM
in reply to: mdg2003

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?

Xi'an = the Terracotta soldiers are pretty amazing to see !

I can't remember for certain what else we saw while in that area, maybe a tee farm.



2016-12-02 4:31 PM
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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?
I would recommend Yunnan Province in the southwest. You can fly there (Kunming) from Hong Kong. Somehow they ended up with about 90% of the natural scenery. It's a big province and very culturally diverse--similar to Laos and Myanmar in the far south, all the way to Tibetan areas in the far northwest. Decent roads and tourist infrastructure in most places as well, but you can easily get off the beaten path if you want. Loads of opportunities for trekking. That was my favorite escape when I lived in China.

As for Xi'an, meh....In my opinion, aside from the soldiers and maybe the city wall if it's still there, it's kind of the armpit of China. Air quality seemed worse than Beijing; the city was quite ugly except for a few historical preservation areas. As I recall, the air was so bad that even in the semi-enclosed area where the soldiers are, it was hard to see them clearly. Like you mentioned having haze inside the terminal. We visited in December so maybe it is better at other times of the year?

Edited by Hot Runner 2016-12-02 4:35 PM
2016-12-03 10:42 PM
in reply to: mdg2003

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?

 I was wondering if you ever made it to Iceland. I remember you asking about it but never heard if you went. Yes, definitely, GO!

 

2016-12-07 10:58 AM
in reply to: Hot Runner

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?
Originally posted by Hot Runner

I would recommend Yunnan Province in the southwest. You can fly there (Kunming) from Hong Kong. Somehow they ended up with about 90% of the natural scenery. It's a big province and very culturally diverse--similar to Laos and Myanmar in the far south, all the way to Tibetan areas in the far northwest. Decent roads and tourist infrastructure in most places as well, but you can easily get off the beaten path if you want. Loads of opportunities for trekking. That was my favorite escape when I lived in China.

As for Xi'an, meh....In my opinion, aside from the soldiers and maybe the city wall if it's still there, it's kind of the armpit of China. Air quality seemed worse than Beijing; the city was quite ugly except for a few historical preservation areas. As I recall, the air was so bad that even in the semi-enclosed area where the soldiers are, it was hard to see them clearly. Like you mentioned having haze inside the terminal. We visited in December so maybe it is better at other times of the year?


I'll keep that in mind then! Thanks for all your help and input. Love that BT still has such a diverse and knowledgeable base.
2016-12-07 11:10 AM
in reply to: trijamie

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?
Originally posted by trijamie

 I was wondering if you ever made it to Iceland. I remember you asking about it but never heard if you went. Yes, definitely, GO!

 





She's digging around still. We shall see what she comes up with. She found a cruise that hits Iceland and Greenland. I think she said it left from Norway and ended up in Boston. It was pretty expensive so we kind of shelved that option for now. Ideally we'd start in Reykjavik and drive on 1 around the entire country. She's having a little trouble finding lodging that meets her princess standards! Will make a thread about it if we ever make it!
2016-12-08 9:18 AM
in reply to: mdg2003

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?

Originally posted by mdg2003
Originally posted by trijamie

 I was wondering if you ever made it to Iceland. I remember you asking about it but never heard if you went. Yes, definitely, GO!

 

She's digging around still. We shall see what she comes up with. She found a cruise that hits Iceland and Greenland. I think she said it left from Norway and ended up in Boston. It was pretty expensive so we kind of shelved that option for now. Ideally we'd start in Reykjavik and drive on 1 around the entire country. She's having a little trouble finding lodging that meets her princess standards! Will make a thread about it if we ever make it!

Lodging in Iceland is definitely the most difficult task. Things are quite few and far between once you leave Reykjavik.  There's a big industry in camper vans for a reason.   However, the driving is INCREDIBLE!   So many beautiful sights. 

Here's my flickr album from August.  Also feel free to share the link with your wife. You have to live with some of my race pics - went for the Rekjavik marathon.  But after that it's all scenery and silliness.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/33607205@N03/albums/72157673231603675



2016-12-08 10:13 AM
in reply to: BikerGrrrl

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?

Thanks for sharing those Emily. Sigh, it brings me back. I've been there twice now and am always longing to go back. Looks like you made it to the basalt columns in Vik, and the snorkeling at thingvellir!

2016-12-08 4:36 PM
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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?
Yes, thanks. Looks like a pretty amazing place. Looks like you had a great trip. What was the raw meat on the slate? Whale? Puffin?
2016-12-14 10:27 AM
in reply to: mdg2003

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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?
Enjoyed the pictures. I think that is the same hotel we stayed at when we were there several years ago.
2016-12-14 1:48 PM
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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?

Originally posted by mdg2003 Yes, thanks. Looks like a pretty amazing place. Looks like you had a great trip. What was the raw meat on the slate? Whale? Puffin?

Puffin.  Felt a little wrong, but unavoidable

2016-12-14 1:49 PM
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Subject: RE: Beijing anyone?

Originally posted by trijamie

Thanks for sharing those Emily. Sigh, it brings me back. I've been there twice now and am always longing to go back. Looks like you made it to the basalt columns in Vik, and the snorkeling at thingvellir!

Yes!  All unique experiences, that's for sure.



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