Getting to Beijing

26-27 June 2013

My family and I decided to have Vietnamese food, specifically Pho, as my last American meal before I leave to China for about two months (as if I cannot get enough of Asian food when I'm in China). Shortly after dinner, I had to do some last minute packing. By 9 P.M, I was on my way to LAX. Conan, our family's golden doodle, wanted to come along more than my older brother, but they both stayed behind. Before I went to LAX, my family made a stop at 85 Bakery Cafe (more Asian food). I arrived at LAX around 10:30 P.M and was through the security checkpoint by 11:30 P.M. I didn't know what to feel when I got through security. I traveled alone before, but never half way around the world alone.

1 A.M Take-off.

I had to make one stop at Hong Kong before I went to Beijing. The 14 hour flight wasn't too bad. I slept, ate, listened to music, and watched some shows (Friends, The Office, and Game of Thrones). I guess it was what I would normally do on a hot summer's day.

Once I arrived at Hong Kong, I was sweatin' as if I popped a molly or something. The humidity was like no other...Also, I met up with my cousins at the airport and played Big 2 until our next flight.

The second flight was just like the former.

After 18 hours, I was finally in Beijing, and my cousins and I had to take a train to get to the baggage claim. It took about 30 minutes just to get on the train due to train malfunction and over-aggressive Chinese people. Also, people talk a lot about the pollution in Bejing. Looking outside the plane, the pollution was real. Walking outside of Bejing, the pollution was even more real. It was difficult to breathe, but I guess it is comparable to Los Angeles. Traffic and smog every single day.

Our aunt picked us up from the airport and showed us around Peking University. The people and the campus seem nice. After showing us around the campus, we decided to go eat at Hong Kong cuisine restaurant. I can't escape the Asian foooooood!

Eating Chinese food in America and eating Chinese food in China are quite different. The waiters are treated differently, and the food in China is wayyyyyy saltier, surprisingly. I guess I have to give other restaurants a chance. I'm interested what the menu for McDonald's and KFC in China are like. I will take a look some other day since I live just a walk away.

(Note: This is my first blog. Hopefully, I'll get better as the days progress. Maybe I might even do a vlog. We'll see.)