A Leap Into The Unkown: China

by milo line (Australia)

A leap into the unknown China

Cruising high and dry on our way into Beijing, with no idea how it would be was an unusual sensation. Neither of us were new to long trips abroad, but china was going to be an entirely new creature, that much we knew. The orient has never really been at the top of the list for either of us, however there we were on our way into the cultural and commercial heart and soul of the eastern hemisphere. Because we’d never considered it before, it almost felt like an accident, as if we’d had a big night and bought a couple of tickets on a whim (I might’ve even done that, I can’t remember). As we touched down in Beijing in early December, I expected to see something a little less industrial, a thought that later, would cause me to smile. After a 12-hour flight and the maddest rush through an airport without a thought for personal space or line etiquette, we were in the belly of the beast and it was about to get weird. Beijing and China in general are a funny choice for this topic, and ill have to try and convince you of my point of view, because Beijing was both exactly everything I had imagined, but so much more bizarre. Like a beautiful nightmare. after a trek and a half to our hostel (one of the many Leo’s hostels in Beijing) the first thing we realized was that our long sleeve t-shirts and denim jeans weren’t going to keep the cold out, we were so under prepared, we completely forgot to even remotely assess the average temperature of Beijing in December before we got there. Beijing is a cool city, incredible food, the people are sweet, and you can buy anything you want. However, it’s dead silent for the most part, even the air is still and serene, catching a train with 5000 other people on Beijing’s amazing metro is bliss, not even a whisper can be heard. Clubbing in Beijing was incredible, it was a place to meet others from all over the world, with dubious “westerners drink free nights” whether we wanted to accept the drinks or not we ended up with a few good friends by the end of every night we went out. After a few days in Beijing however it actually became a little unsettling and the hostel became a beacon of western normality. We ventured into the interior of china charting a rather different route to most travelers we met, riding on the notorious smoke and people filled midnight sleeper trains (an experience within themselves). After a week in the big smoke we ended up in Datong, a city of little note, with beautiful grottoes and a hanging temple, again we were plagued by the weather which hampered our time in the city. After spending a night in a small stop over city whose name eludes me, we ended up in Xi’an, home of the terracotta warriors, a truly magnificent sight. One thing about China, that is beautiful, Is the type of people that visit this amazing country, theyre full of adventure and are always keen to help one another, we had a great time in Xi’an meeting new friends and experiencing the exotic Muslim quarter. Chengdu was next and again the food was incredible, famous for their chili hotpot and the amazing tea gardens, Chengdu was an unexpected gem of this trip and id wholeheartedly intend to return. A few train trips and a few more wild nights we ended up in Beihai, a small city, the birthplace of the Chinese communist party, the whole city was a market where you could buy anything! We even stumbled across an exotic meat market and unfortunately saw a couple of dogs and exotic birds being butchered for meat. We didn’t eat meat that night. We eventually flew out of Hongkong about a week later, we had no idea what to expect of china, it was beautiful and different, it has a feeling like its a hundred countries punched into one little area. Everything is surprising in this country. Leapt in with no idea, came out a different person. Thank you.