Friday, July 19, 2013

beijing {part one}

our first stop in china was beijing! we left LA at 2 in the morning on the 4th of july, and arrived in beijing at 6 AM on the 5th of july! we skipped an entire day, it was quite a time warp. we spent 3 days in beijing, the capital city of china. we were fascinated by the size of it, the history, and the culture. this post covers the first part of our time in beijing.
^^ long flight..tip: don't eat the food provided on air china! it is not normal!
we brought bags of trader joe's snacks instead :) ^^
^^ our first stop, the summer palace! this was formerly used by emperors in china.
it was unbelievably gorgeous, and one of our favorite things in beijing. ^^
^^ a little visit to the beijing zoo to see the famous giant pandas ^^
^^ i wanted to cuddle the cute panda bears eating bamboo ^^
^^ we got lots of yummy asian fruit off the street, and headed to the pearl market ^^
^^ they have everything you can imagine! knock offs, souvenirs, it is crazy.
lots of bartering goes on, and if you walk away they almost always give in to your price! ^^
^^ chase bartering with his yuan. the markets there were unbelievable! 
he got some polo t-shirts for around $5 each. ^^
^^ chase loved the soldiers and took a picture with them every chance he got ^^
^^ we took a boat ride on kunming lake at the summer palace. i LOVED this place. ^^
^^ we kept seeing these little containers with straws everywhere on the street, and couldn't figure out what they were. milk? nope..yogurt. they drink theirs through a straw {it's not as thick}
^^ then, the jet lag hit us on the subway ^^
 
^^ we stopped by the famous pearl factory.. i had never seen gold pearls before! so gorgeous. we also learned all about pearl powder and how chinese people eat it in the morning with hot water for health, put it on their face for better skin, etc. i'm sold!^^ 
^^ we tried lots & lots of dumplings on this trip..these were our favorite ^^
^^ the rickshaw ride was one of our favorite things in the hutong district ^^
^^ this jade museum was actually something i loved! i knew what jade was, but never realized the significance in chinese culture. i also didn't know how many different shades and varieties jade can come in. some of the lighter stones were gorgeous! if you get a real jade bracelet and wear it on your left wrist, it's good for your heart! what's not to like? ^^
^^ we even stopped at this famous pharmacy where they practice traditional medicine...AKA focus on imbalances and treat you with herbs! we got a complimentary little check-up, they told chase he has too much "fire" in him, & not to drink icy water! ha, so for the rest of the trip he refused any cold drinks. crazy if you ask me...it was HOT & humid! i was told that i have poor circulation, and as if to prove that, i fainted the day after we returned from china! not sure if that was dehydration, jet lag, or poor circulation, but i better listen to those traditional chinese doctors next time! all joking aside, i really loved this experience at the pharmacy because i realized that in america, we tend to only go to the doctor when something is wrong or we are sick. in china, they focus on wellness and encourage everyone to do what they can to feel their BEST. we may not be sick, but we all have imbalances we can improve upon, and i like the natural way they do that.  ^^
part two post of beijing on the way!

X O




13 comments:

  1. Looks like a fabulous trip. I am looking forward to the rest of the story.

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  2. Looks like a fabulous trip. I am looking forward to the rest of the story.

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  3. Love all the photos! China seems like such an interesting and fun place to visit.
    Also, those little dumplings look delicious!
    xoxo

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  4. I'm so jealous, this looks amazing!

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  5. wow!! Quite the trip!

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  6. Great story and pictures! You should make them bigger to see better, they look really interesting =]

    A Golden State of Mind

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    1. hi, thanks! i made them small so the post wasn't so long, but you can click them to enlarge them & then scroll through! thanks for letting me know! XO

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  7. Looks amazing! One of the many many places I'd love to experience and love those giant pandas!

    We honeymooned in Fiji and the 10 hour flight crossing the international date line was surreal. It took us several days to knock the jet lag :-P

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  8. I want to know what the doctor said about you!

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    1. good point! i'll have to add that-- it was just not as entertaining as his.. haha i was told i have bad circulation..and as if to prove that, i fainted the day after we got home from china! guess i need to work on that!

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  9. yay for the pearl market! they have one in shanghai too - did you go to that one?? it really does have some of the best souvenirs. and such a variety too! i also went to a jade museum, though not the one in beijing. awesome :) excited for the rest!

    PS one of the times Jae and i got dumplings, the asians around us totally laughed at us, trying to eat them with our chopsticks. other foods are easier with chopsticks, but we struggled a bit with the dumplings that one time haha. oh well, eh.

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  10. No icy drinks! Ha! That is hilarious. Fun trip!

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  11. This looks amazing :) I want some gold pearls now! ;)

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