Beijing

It's been awhile since my trip to Beijing, but I still haven't had a chance to write about, since life has been a whirlwind here lately. Beijing itself was amazing. Going there on a group tour was probably not the best idea. It was like being on a high school field trip at some points...but that being said, the sights of Beijing were fantastic! The great wall was even more amazing than I would have expected from any history book or pictures I'd ever seen. It was completely breathtaking to see it in person. We managed to climb to the top of the section we were at (Badaling), the view was spectacular, though it was quite a hike to get there, it was more than worth it. The summer palace and Behaii Park were my two other favorite places. It was pretty chilly when we were there, as I'm sure you can tell from the winter coats, but it was nice to be there for Chinese New Year. There were fireworks non-stop for about two days. People were setting them off from thousands of places around the city. The sky was lit up for hours at night, and it was so noisy you could barely hear the person next to you at times....AMAZING! It was quite an experience and it was also lovely to be reunited with Isabel, a friend from home who is also in Korea a few hours a way. The highlights; the food, the marble boat in the summer palace, the great wall, playing on the ice on little slider things on the frozen lake in Behaii Park and the amazing acrobats. Everyone should go there at some point!