Tokyo

A week ago I returned from Tokyo! Ever since arriving in Beijing over a year ago I wanted to go and see Tokyo. It wasn't quite what I had imagined it to be honestly. I had fun though nevertheless!

I was in Tokyo for three full days and two half days. (Flying there and back). One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Tokyo was to go to Tokyo Disneyland. (I know a bit lame but who cares!). Also I wanted to explore Tokyo and see some of the sights.

Getting to the city of Tokyo itself from the airport is an adventure. The international airport is actually an hour away from the city itself. So you need to take a train into the city. Then from there you need to take the subway (giant headache) to find your hotel. It took us about 3 hours from the time we landed until we checked into our hotel. After checking into the hotel we ventured off to Asakasa. There we went to the  Sensoji Temple

 Sensoji Temple

After the temple we walked around the area then went and saw the Tokyo Sky Tree. The Sky Tree is the tallest free standing building in the world. You can go up to the top of the building but its a glass elevator and a glass top all the way around. Plus I got a bit freaked out when I could actually see airplanes flying in the sky in Tokyo. And it didn't help that Alex (my friend) said to me when a plane flew close what would you do if it crashed into the building..Thanks Alex.

The second day I went to Tokyo Disneyland! Tokyo Disneyland and Disneyworld are very similar. They have the exact same rides, same shows and even the same areas.

Same castle as Disney World. Though it was decorated for their 30th anniversary.

Parade had the same music as home! Though Mickey and Minnie were dressed up!






While the park was very much the same I felt the atmosphere just wasn't. Tokyo Disneyland isn't actually owned by Disney, its owned by some other company. Its a franchise that has to pay royalty's to Disney. That being said some aspects of the park were different than home. Everyone spoke Japanese at the park but no one spoke English. Last year I went to Hong Kong Disneyland and the staff knew English, Cantonese and Mandarian. Not to mention all the rides in HK were in English as well as one or two shows. EVERYTHING was in Japanese. Which is good considering I was in Japan. But kinda of weird. Usually the food is quite good in Disney, I wasn't impressed with the food in Tokyo Disneyland. They had this weird thing with churros. They loved churros..they were all over the park. It was difficult to find food and drinks. I asked a lady where I could buy water and she didn't even know. She had to pull out the map and look all over the park. In fact every time we asked someone where something was they had no idea. Other than those small details it was still a lot of fun.

The next day we went to Disney Sea. Disney Sea is a park that is different from any other Disney park. They have various areas such as Mermaid Lagoon, Arabian Coast, Lost River Delta, Mysterious Island, American Waterfront, Mediterranean Harbor and Port Discovery. Unfortunately the day we went was a dreary day. It rained the whole day and was very cold. This park had better food and more rollercoasters. (If your into that). It reminded me of a combination of Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

Nautical Mickey. Disney Sea has a nautical theme throughout the park. Each area is a different port. Ahoy Captain Mickey!

Port Discovery. This area is very futuristic 

Part of the Lost River Delta Area. This area also included Mexican theme articles and food. It also was home to Donald Duck.

Part of the Mediterranean Harbor.

 Arabian Coast. The rain didn't keep the crowds away.

 Mermaid Lagoon. This area was cool because you were able to inside Triton's castle. Inside were rides, shows. It is made to look like you are under the sea.

A little blurry but this is what it looked like inside.

American Waterfront. This area was lined with stores and was designed to look like American from the 1900's.


Overall I liked Disney Sea. It was completely different to anything I had seen before. It would have been better if it wasn't raining..








On the fourth day in Tokyo we explored the city.

Catching a glimpse of Mount Fuji.

 Meji Temple

 Shibuya Crossing. This is where the pedestrian scramble is. Famous spot that is seen in the movies. When you think Tokyo this is what you see.

Imperial Palace











I enjoyed going to Tokyo. It was a really fun experience!

The Wonderful World of Ice

 Last week I ventured up to northern China to take part in a wintery wonderland in Harbin, China. Every year they hold an Ice and Snow World. Its known all over the world, there are only 5 other ice parks in the world. Harbin is a 12 hour train ride north of Beijing or an hour and half plane ride away. (I choose the plane!). The temperatures in the winter gets below 0 and is quite frigid. I was fortunate when I went that the high was 9 degrees and the low was -20. (without factoring in the windshield!).

Harbin offers many winter attractions to visitors. I took part in several of these activities. The first was the Snow Exposition. Here they create sculptures out of snow!


This is a snow cathedral!

The year of the horse!










These snow sculptures were larger than life! Truly amazing! However it was very cold walking around the snow park. We were there for about two hours. After two hours I started to lose feeling in my feet. We also got lost wandering in the park. Then we walked a mile back to the beginning.

Next on the agenda (after warming up!) was heading to the Ice Lantern festival. The Ice lantern festival is a smaller version of Ice and Snow World. However instead of focusing on the world (like Ice and Snow World does), it focuses on China.

Apparently all the ice blocks are taken from the frozen river in Harbin. All the ice is hard wired with beautiful lights that light up the night!

 Titan men Square

 Not sure what this is suppose to represent!

Typical Chinese garden style wall.







We spent about an hour and half at the Ice Lantern Festival. The Festival was cool because it was interactive. They had games you could play, ice slides, and you could walk on any of the sculptures. However it was very slippery! At night temperature drops without the sun. My feet were starting to get very numb despite all the warmers I had on!

The next day we went to the Siberian Tiger Park. The first part of our tour included a bus ride through the tiger cages. It allowed us to get close to the tigers while in a safe vechile. (ok maybe not that safe...but I didn't get eaten!)

This tiger was literally laying right next to the road we were driving down!

 All that separated me from the tigers was this cage! At this park you could feed the tigers live chickens. You basically put the chicken down a shoot and then the chicken pops out into the tiger cage. There the tigers fight over the chicken. This cost you about 25 dollars. I really had no desire to touch a chicken or feed it to a tiger..

Of course this is China so people were feeding the tigers things like sausage through the grates. They put the sausage through the hole and then the tiger jumped out and grabbed it. Obviously these people didn't care about their fingers...

After the tiger park we warmed back up and then went to Ice and Snow World. We arrived just in time to see the sunset. The second day was a lot colder than the first day. I was bundled up to the max.

 At Ice and Snow World you can walk around on all the sculptures. They are all created out of ice! There were two ways to get off this.. walk down or slide down. I choose the slide. (not the best way, the slide was full of people and then my butt got stuck halfway done...not enough traction. So I had to scoot down the rest of the way..which was not easy!)

 Standing on top looking down!

 Disney had a castle built! Typical Disney pose..except I am wearing a hundred layers!

Temple made of Ice! Walking around on ice is very cold. I never knew how cold it was until I did it. My feet lasted about an hour. Then they started to get numb. Feet warmers and hand warmers did absolutely nothing to help the cold. The air was so cold that the battery in my phone died and my camera battery started going on the fritz. While the Ice and Snow World was breathtaking I got too cold to appreciate it anymore. I also was too cold to take a lot of pictures. I took about 30-40 pictures then I was so cold I started losing interest. Even with gloves on my hands were cold. My fingers were hurting from the cold inside my gloves. I had hand warmers on inside my gloves.  I have never been that cold before.

I would highly recommend going to Harbin if you happen to be in China next January and February. It is a once in a lifetime experience.

Singapore

 During the spring festival I went to Singapore with my friend Alejandra. While Singapore has never been on my list of places to see, a friend was going and I thought hell why not! After 12 hours in Singapore I fell in love with the country.

Singapore was discovered by a man named Raffles. He wanted a port that would be in between China and India. It was  a small fishing village and he transformed it into a bustling urban city. Singapore was ruled by the British until WW2 when the Japanese occupied the city. The British claimed it back and then Singapore sought their independence in 1962. Singapore is a city full of rich history and diversity. It has four official languages- English, Mandarin, Tamil and Malay. Almost everyone in Singapore speaks English. All the signs are posted in English. They also have very strict laws. These laws are enforced with canning or heavy fines. Some of the laws include- no jaywalking ($500 fine), no eating or drinking on public transportation ($500), no spitting, ($500), no durians, and no littering ($500). These law create a very pleasant and clean atmosphere that is lacking in so many Asian countries.

I spent 5 days in Singapore. Some cities around the world have must see attractions. There are really no must see attractions in Singapore. So I just spent 5 days exploring the city.

The first day I went on an open air bus tour. It took us all over the city. We explored parts of Little India, Chinatown and the Marina area. We also went to a Hindu Temple and the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple. At the end of the day we went to Marina Bay Sands and saw a laser show over the bay.

Little India

Hindu Temple

 Buddha Tooth Relic Temple









On the second day I went to Universal Studios Singapore. Previously I have been to Hong Kong Disneyland and comparing it to theme parks at home they are a lot smaller. I have never been to Universal in Orlando but I would only assume it would be bigger than this park. Overall though it was nice to be at the park and go on the different rides!

 On the third day we decided to hop over to Indonesia. I figured why not say I have been to Indonesia too! Indonesia seemed poor with beautiful beaches and resorts. We show up and basically they said oh go to this resort that is where all the foreigners go. The beach was beautiful. However we couldn't swim in the water due to high algae.

On the fourth day we spent more time exploring Singapore. This included a trip to the Garden by the Bays, Singapore Flyer, Arab Street, and a river boat cruise. A very busy day!

The Garden by the Bay is a beautiful garden that has lush greeny. There were artificial trees that did the exact same things as regular trees only better. The gardens also had a lot of education that explained the importance of trees.






The last day in Singapore we walked around the city for the majority of the day. We explored along the river and saw a fort as well as old buildings. We stopped at the Raffles Hotel and had a Singapore Slinger.






This is a photo of the Merlion. The Merlion is half lion and half fish. He protects the city.


Singapore is a beautiful city. I enjoyed my vacation there and would highly recommend it to anyone thinking of going.

Wow

Very frequently I find myself saying wow under my breath in China. When a woman gets her monthly visit here I find myself constantly saying wow. At home its no big deal, you go on with your life. Some people may make jokes about mood swings, making women very unhappy. However here its a different story. There are all kinds of rules of what you can and can't do during that special time.

• You are not allowed to eat red meat.
• You can't drink anything with caffeine in it.
• You should drink warm water and brown sugar.
• The air condition can't be on.
• You shouldn't really go out and do stuff- you should stay home and relax.
• Going to work is optional. (plenty of girls have called off)
• You need to use tissues not toilet paper.
• You can't take pain medicine
• You can't have any doctor's appointment during this time.
• You can't have your teeth pulled because the bleeding is related.

These are just some of things I hear everyday at work. I am just left standing there thinking wow.

Pregnancy is another thing here that makes me say wow.

• You need to wear a smock that will keep the microwaves away from your baby.
• You can work but its highly recommended that you don't.
• You can't go near the microwave if it is on.

The unexpected wow factors is common place in China. Everyday something small or big happens that leaves me saying wow.

• When people don't know how to get on an escalator
• How can people possibly walk so slow
• Why is there a big pile of pee in front of the toilet?
• Did you really just pick your nose and wipe it on the hanging thing in the taxi??
• What is that smell?
• Why run to the escalator when you are just going to stand on it?
• Stinky tofu
• Getting 10 chicken nuggets at McDonalds
• Cleaning lady yelling at me for hitting the soap dispenser when the bathroom is a mess.
• The pollution smells like ash.
• Having a room full of people and its 80 degrees and no one turns on the air.
•  The weird smells from construction sights
• Fireworks at breakfast.
• Raw meat laying out in the middle of the store.
• Wearing a coat on a 70 degree day.

The list could go on. Everyday in China I just say wow.  Thankfully its Chinese New Year holiday. Vacation here I come!

Pollution

Growing up I read all kinds of books. I remember reading about sickly people and how they would go out into the country to get some fresh air. The fresh air made them stronger. Just like the saying- I need to go out and get some fresh air. Meaning out with bad and in with the new. 

 The longer I live in China the more I see and feel the effects of pollution in the air. At home an air quality action day consists of air particles being about 40 in the air. A typical day in Beijing is 100. In the winter it is normal to have days over 300. I have an app on my phone that warns me when the air starts to get unhealthy.

The winter especially in Beijing causes the air pollution to go up. Coal is used to heat the buildings in the winter. Factories outside of Beijing are actually the culprits for the air pollutants. When the wind blows a certain way bam its in Beijing. And sadly the city of Beijing sits in a valley. The air gets trapped in the city.

Recently I have noticed that my health is not what it has been at home. I am a healthy 26 women. I don't smoke. Since living in China I have had bronchitis 3 times. My lungs randomly will wheeze up. I can feel the tightness in my chest when the air is bad. In addition depending on what is in the air headaches develop. And what is scary is that I will not be the only one. At work it seems we all get headaches at the same time. It is common place to have a cough everyday here. Phelm and mucus in your throat is normal. People spit up on the street all the time simply because they are trying to get the bad stuff out of their lungs. Not to mention minor aches and pains are more common place. You feel as if you are falling apart. Drinking hot water actually does help, because the hot water soothes your throat.

It is scary to see and feel the effects of poor air quality. Lung cancer and bowel cancer are the leading causes of death in China.

The air is not always terrible in Beijing. But when it is you can feel it. I can't wait to go and breath some fresh air. My lungs will do a happy dance.

In a nutshell..

So its been a while since I have wrote on my blog!I have been a bit busy. My brother visited at the end of September. So this blog entry will be a little long.
First here are some photos from Mark's visit!

 At the Great Wall (for the 7th time)

 Wofo Temple

 Fake Terracotta Warriors in the corner..well we are assuming they are fake..

 Temple of Heaven







I went home in October for a few weeks then  I came back to China.

  Originally I was going to travel to Prague but circumstances have kept me in China a bit longer!

Since coming back to China in October things have been fairly quiet. I celebrated Halloween at work with my children and Rose

 I then ventured off one day and saw the Drum and Bell Tower. I climbed 62 steps to get to the top and see the drums!

The Bell Tower









Thanksgiving was next. I planned a Thanksgiving party for everyone who works at Disney English. About 50 people showed up!








After Thanksgiving was another Christmas in Beijing.

Everyone gets homesick at Christmas in Beijing. No one wants to be here. So I tried to make it as fun as possible. We had a cookie making party!

 Oops...

 Teaching Rose and Vivian how to make cupcakes!

On Christmas I had some of my close friends over. We tracked Santa on the Santa tracker. It was a nice way to spend Christmas Eve. Not like I would at home but we had a good time!










New Years Eve came and went. And now I am planning trips that are coming up this year before I head home in April. This year I plan on traveling to Singapore, Harbin Ice Festival, and Tokyo.
In the meanwhile I am having fun in Beijing! I tried ice skating yesterday..