China - Day 302

All good things must come to an end. I hate this saying. I dunno why – I guess it just seems so patronizing. But I suppose it’s true, whoever said it first must’ve known something…Anyways, as all good things do, my time in China has ended. It’s time for me to move on in my life and take a different path. Although I’m back in Canada as I write this, my mind and heart are still back in Guangzhou. They haven’t caught up with me yet. I’m not sure if they ever will. I had such a fantastic time in China; it’s going to take a long time to accept the fact that it’s no longer my home…

My last weeks in GZ were pretty busy. It was the Chinese Spring Festival (Lunar New Year) so I had some holiday time. Tony and I packed up and head North to Beijing for a few days and then to Shanghai for a couple more. The trip was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed the Big BJ as it’s become known. Despite the chilly temperature the weather couldn’t have been better – big blue sky and a bright sun-shiny sky. We arrived around noon on New Years Eve Day and took a taxi to our hotel. The first thing on our agenda – an afternoon nap. Haha, sad, but true… We had gotten up at 4:00 to catch the shuttle to the airport, since it was the first official day of the holiday we didn’t want to risk missing our flight because of long lines.

After our cat nap we set out to explore the city. We walked from our hotel to Tiananmen Square. Took a while but it was a nice walk – the streets were deserted. I figured one of two things was happening, either; A) everyone was at home enjoying family time; or B) there had been some kind of terrorist attack threat that we’d missed. Either way it was a cool experience seeing BJ so… underpopulated. We arrived at the Square just in time for the lowering of the National Flag. Just a coincidence, but glad it happened. We got to watch some guards march across the street from the Forbidden City and then ceremoniously lower the flag down. After that we continued walking as the sun was setting to the pedestrian street Wangfujing. There we found a restaurant that specializes in Peking Duck (there were a lot of choices, actually) and stopped for dinner. It’s probably blasphemous to say, but the Peking Duck in Guangzhou was better. Even the Peking Duck I had back in Calgary was better. Not to say that it was bad – I just expected more. After dinner we went to Hou Hai for some drinks and to watch the fireworks. And of fireworks there were plenty! I seriously felt like I was in a warzone. The constant exploding noises from the firecrackers at street level and the bursts from the fireworks overhead – so relentless and so loud! At midnight they went crazy and the display went hard for at least an hour. After that it died down but not out. I heard that overall that night there were 75 fires in Beijing and 45 injuries. I guess all in all, not bad statistics LOL.

The following day we woke up late and then took a bus ride out to the Great Wall. I seriously underestimated its size in my head. It’s huge! And the view from on top is beautiful. Although steep and a little tiring to climb up, it’s definitely worth it! I’m going to have those images in my head for a long long time. After the Great Wall we went and took a trip out to the Olympic Park and saw the Bird’s Nest Stadium and the Aquatics Centre. Definitely cool examples of modern architecture.

We took some time out of the regular tourist attracts the next day and just wandered around aimlessly. Well, not entirely aimlessly. We went to the Temple Fair which is basically the same as the Flower Streets in Guangzhou minus the fresh flowers. It was sooo crowded! I didn’t buy anything, well aside from the candied fruit on a stick, but it was interesting walk around and people watch.

Our last morning in BJ we woke up early to go and see the flag being raised at sunrise and then walked across the street for the Forbidden City to open. Those of you who know me are aware that I’m not exactly the morning type, but if you want to walk through the Forbidden City with any sense of personal space first thing in the morning is the time to do it. We walked by the day before in the afternoon to go check it out but the line up out side was seriously ridiculous! Like many things in China, the Forbidden City was huge! It just kept going and going. Over 9000 rooms total. We obviously didn’t stop to look at them all, but the ones we did look at were pretty remarkable. So much history.

At noon we left for the airport and took a plane to Shanghai. I was really excited to go but once we got there I realized that, well, it really wasn’t all that special. We met up with a friend of Tony’s and went our for some local Shanghainese cuisine. Then we went to the beach to look at the famous Pudong skyline. The next day was rainy but we spend the day walking around Nanjing Pedestrian Street. By the evening we were back in a taxi and on our way to the airport again.

Back in Guangzhou I only had 4 days left before my departure. And how time flied! I worked for two days and then had my good bye party on my second-last night. It was bittersweet. I was happy to have all my friends gathered under one roof, but sad knowing it would be for the last time. The spirits were high at the party and I managed to make it through the night without breaking down and crying haha.

I’ve cried more tears than I’d like to admit over the past few days. I’m trying to be strong but it’s not always that easy. Most of the time I’m fine it’s just whenever go over the events of the past several days that my emotions get the better of me; especially when I think back to the airport when Tony and a small group of friends – Steven, Hehe, Olivia and Vicky – came to see me off. It was teary farewell but I’m so glad to have friends like you guys who would wake up so early to come and say goodbye. No, not “goodbye”, just “see you later”.

And so it is… I’m now back on (frozen) Canadian soil. My memories are keeping me warm. I’m going to miss you all but I hope to see you all again soon. And hey, there’s always Facebook right? ;)