In addition, despite the fact that I try to find something positive about every place I visit, there are a lot of places I just didn’t connect with for whatever reason, or didn’t have enough time to visit. I think everywhere deserves more than once chance–so here are ten places I need to visit again!

Cambodia

Some real talk here: I kind of, um, hated most of my time in Cambodia (except for moments at Angkor Wat and in the Ratanakiri Province). Awful, right? After an amazing, action-packed month exploring Thailand, my cousin and I went to Cambodia and so many things went wrong. We were both really sick; we’d left our friends behind in Thailand and missed them (and their traveling skills); the endless heat and oppressive humidity was getting to me; we were there over Thanksgiving and the homesickness was out of control; and honestly, the locals seemed to harass us, hate us, lecture us, or be annoyed that we weren’t acting the way they wanted. I feel like all of these things combined together to make me hate it, and I couldn’t wait to leave. When we crossed to border into Vietnam–via a boat on the Mekong, on a visa that our couch surfing host had done incorrectly which would make us get detained later (but that’s a different story)–I let out a breath of relief. I know Cambodia is a beautiful, complicated, impoverished country, and I think I need to give it another chance.

Read more about Cambodia here. 

China

China is one of those places that, while I was there, I didn’t love it–but now that I look back, I think “WOW! What a great country!” China, partially because of the situation I was in while there (an internship working with earthquake survivors in Sichuan province) pushed my boundaries like no other, and therefore wasn’t exactly a comfortable experience. I witnessed tragedy, heartbreak, corruption, illness, confusing cultural norms–and was struck by the resilience and joy of the people, and the country itself. Oh yeah, I need to go back.

Read more about China here. 

Thailand

Unlike the Cambodia saga above, I just adored Thailand. The smiling people! The food. The diverse, gorgeous landscape. The sweaty, chaotic cities. The idyllic islands. Thailand pretty much has everything, and even though I spent a month there, I have so much left to see! Plus, E has never been, which is reason enough to return.

Read more about Thailand here. 

South America

Is it cheating to put an entire continent on here? I haven’t been to South America since I studied abroad in Peru and Ecuador in 2009. That study abroad trip was my first real time away from home, and my first solo travel, which means that a lot of my memories are overshadowed by my homesickness, my parasite (yep), my idiocy (even more yep), the reasons I left in the first place (struggles in school and relationships), and my sky-high expectations slowly crumbling beneath me. That being said, now that I’m more comfortable traveling–and (slightly) more comfortable in my skin–I would love to go back to South America. I mean, there is so much more of that giant continent to explore.

Read more about Peru here and more about Ecuador here. 

Panama

We spent only three days there on our honeymoon in 2015, on the island chain of Bocas del Toro. I…did not like it. I don’t know why. I found it overcrowded, dirty, and rather stressful. So maybe I do know why–but I have been to a lot of places that fit those criteria, and that didn’t necessarily bother me. I think the Bocas are exploding with tourism and are not equipped to handle it, and the environment is starting to suffer. It really is a beautiful corner of the world, though!

Read more about Panama here. 

Iceland

Two 17-hour layovers were not enough! Iceland has simply exploded onto the international travel scene, for good reason. I’d love to spend more time there!

Read more about Iceland here. 

Vietnam

Although I would go back to every country I visited during my tour of Southeast Asia (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, South Korea & Vietnam) the one that pulls me the most is probably Vietnam. I can’t quite put my finger on the why. It stands out in my mind as the most beautiful, but it’s also the place where, as we were traveling so quickly, my cousin and I missed a lot of gems, or just stayed for a day or two. It’s funny, because we had some visa issues and did not leave the country on good terms–but I’m still dying to go back. Or maybe that’s why, and I’m just contrary.

Read more about Vietnam here. 

Italy

Okay, I know Italy is on everyone’s bucket list or return-to list. There’s a reason Italy is one of the most visited spots in the world–and I’ve only seen a few little corners! I haven’t even been to Rome or Florence. I think I haven’t been in a rush because a) Italy is expensive; b) Italy is crowded; c) I will always want to go to Italy and d) Italy is a place I can travel to when I’m older, too. Now, this is usually the opposite of my travel philosophy–I always want to see it now, rather than later, because you just never know if you’ll get another chance, do you? Italy has been creeping higher up my list after our visit to Venice, and the fact that we have friends living all over the country. Not that Italy needs a reason to creep up anyone’s list–it is Italy, after all.

Read more about Italy here. 

Greece

I’ve told you (maybe too much) how even though it was a crazy trip, I completely loved Greece. And I’ve only been to Santorini and Athens–there is so much more to see! The combination of relaxed (sometimes too relaxed, admittedly) attitude, delicious food, ancient history, and beautiful scenery just hooks me in.

Read more about Greece here. 

France

I’ve been to Paris, and Lille, but I would love to get out of the cities and explore more of France. I’m particularly intrigued by Normandy. Truthfully, I didn’t “fall in love” with either Lille or Paris, and I think France deserves another chance! And I didn’t just choose it because it rhymed with chance! I also am part French, and like any true American, I’m eager to learn more about one of my self-assigned homelands.

Read more about France here. 

Do you have places you need to give another chance?

Linking up with Wanderful Wednesday and Faraway Files. 

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As you know, last weekend was Independence Day here in the States and a three-day weekend for everyone. For us, we packed up our car completely full–with things tied to the roof!–and made the long drive up to my parents’ home in Bozeman, Montana. We were selling our car there the next day, so we ended up hitting the road sooner than planned. We did arrive in time for some fireworks, but mostly we were too exhausted to celebrate much.

I normally don’t go all-out for the Fourth of July–I am much more an all-out-for-Christmas-girl, and in fact, it’s been awhile since I was able to go crazy for the Fourth.

Two years ago, Colorado was on fire, so there were no fireworks of any kind–not even sparklers!

For the Fourth of July last year, I was in China.

While it may have been easy to find fireworks if I had been in a larger city (or if I had tried…), I was busy with my internship for my graduate program, deep in rural Sichuan province.

The Sichuan province is in central China, famous for its natural beauty, pandas, and it’s close proximity to the wilds of Tibet (is well as its devastating earthquakes, which is why our internship was based there). After the smog of Beijing, I loved the fresh air and the green humidity of the Sichuan province, as well as the rural rice farms and friendly natives.

While we (me and my fellow classmates also completing their internship) didn’t celebrate traditionally, our Chinese teammates helped us buy the ingredients for an “American” meal (beef, potatoes for fries, corn, watermelon) as well as Pabst Blue Ribbon. I guess, in China, there is nothing more American than good old Pabst Blue Ribbon. (And maybe that’s true here in the States, as well…).

We were even given the day off to make our giant feast. It took a large part of the day to find the ingredients–especially the oil for the fries! We ended up using an oil I hadn’t seen before, but I’m thinking maybe it was saffron oil?

We also had to make all of this in two pots, one pan, and with one hot plate.

First of all, I had never made fries in oil before (oven-baked all the way!) so it took awhile to figure out when to add the potatoes to the oil, if it was hot enough, how much oil to add, etc.

We then formed the burgers by combining onions, beef we ground up with our hands, and as many spices we could find as possible. Mostly salt and pepper…beware of Sichuan pepper!

Everything was actually a delicious success–except the corn never cooked correctly–and that PBR never tasted as good.

Linking up with Bonnie, Sammy, Van and Kaelene!

Have you spent holidays unique to your country/culture abroad? Have you celebrated anyway?

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We visited the Bifengxia Panda Base near Ya’an in rural Sichuan province while I was working with earthquake survivors as part of my international internship experience. It’s a little hard to reach–you’ll need to fly in Chengdu and take a bus from there.

(There is also another panda base, a bigger, more famous one, much closer to Chengdu. While I didn’t go there, it might be easier to get to!)

When you arrive at the main visitor’s center, you have two route choices to reach the panda sanctuary–hiking through a ravine, or riding a bus through a tiger habitat. Only in China. We were with our volunteer team, and the consensus was the hike. They were showing videos of the buses riding through the tiger habitat, and as the bus riders were feeding tigers meat from the windows to get them to come closer, I agreed with the hike.

I’m glad we chose that way, because it was gorgeous. Imagine getting lost in the mountains of China, as seen in the movies, and you’ll get an idea of what this hike was like. We rode an elevator to the bottom of the ravine (I really never figured out why, but it was a long hike back up) and hiked up to the pandas from there. It was a long hike, through the jungle, near rivers and waterfalls, filled with gorgeous flowers and weird signs in Chinese.

Along the ravine, I noticed strange rocks hanging from the cliffs and asked one of our Chinese colleagues what they were. Imagine my surprise when they were actually hanging coffins. The inner history nerd in me lit up like a Christmas tree.

The end of the hike was a little slippery and steep, but it was next to a waterfall (which you eventually cross) and finally, we made it up to the mountain to the pandas, which I’d been waiting to see my whole life.

Of course, China being China, the sanctuary wasn’t open quite yet, so we ate some snacks and waited. Upon arrival into the sanctuary, we still had to walk a lot, although you did have the option of riding in little golf-cart type vehicles. Luckily, we saw a few grown-up pandas along the way, which helped the time pass quickly, but we all know my true goal: the panda kindergarten. I mean, really? You had me at panda kindergarten.

We reached the kindergarten and immediately saw the little ones sleeping in the trees. Commence photo taking! I took a million, and a few videos (because baby pandas) and ended up buying a small stuffed panda as a souvenir.

Just past the panda kindergarten, there is a panda nursery, where the really tiny pandas were mostly in incubators. Not as cute as the toddlers, because they kind of look like black-and-white spotted rats, but still, baby pandas!

Bifengxia Panda Base is actually a panda breeding and research center as well. While China’s millions of dollars spent on the conservation of their most popular symbol has been highly criticized, and unfortunately, there are few left in the wild, I was so grateful that there are still pandas to see. I expect that the Sichuan province will continue to try to save the pandas, as pandas are native to that area.

Even in China, pandas are somewhat of a mysterious creature: One of the Chinese volunteers from a different province in China told me all of her friends back home were under the impression that pandas are just wandering the streets in Sichuan, and all ask her to bring them one as a pet!

I definitely would have liked to bring home a little baby panda.

^I can never resist overloading my camera with images of flowers. You’ll see.

^No boring benches to rest from the hike here. Only gracefully covered ones.

^Leopard print flower? So chic.

^J getting her zen on.

^K in the stream. More zen!

^This was hilarious at the time. I don’t get it now.

^I know you all want to see a selfie.

^How could I not take a picture on this bridge??

^The gorgeous ravine (and the elevator down).

^This is sadly the best photo I was able to get of the hanging coffins–they were very far across a river. Can you see them? They look like little wooden boxes.

^A beauty at a pedestrian beauty spot.

^And FINALLY what we’ve all been waiting for! Toddler pandas! This little guy was in so many cute poses I just couldn’t help myself.

^Ridiculously snuggly.

^this little guy was being taken to “school” according to this panda keeper, but didn’t want to go!

^I can’t even handle their cuteness.

Do you have any unique animals you’ve always wanted to see?

Linking up with Travel Tuesday!

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From the archives…a few impressions from my first few weeks in China last summer! 

Well, I’ve been given a Chinese name–Xiao Mi–so I guess that means I’ve really arrived, right? What do you think of Xiao Mi instead of Amy–should I make a permanent change? It means “small piece of rice.” One of my colleagues, K, is now Xiao Li which means “little beauty.” I can only wish–my names when I travel abroad never mean stuff like that…

Case in point: my cousin’s Thai name meant “falling star.” Mine meant “pomegranate.” Or so they told me. I’m pretty sure it meant something else because whenever I told Thais what my name was in Thai, it was greeted with hilarity. Is pomegranate really that funny? Probably not…

I’m trying not to read too much into the fact that my names are always associated with food. At least it’s small piece of rice and not “eats lots of rice and you can tell?”…right?

Anyway, that firewall I mentioned here in China is really putting a crimp in things. I thought it was a rumor that Facebook didn’t exist, and that China had their own specific version of Google…but those are definitely true. (maybe not if you’re more technically savvy than me…man I miss my engineer boyfriend!!!).

Since I last wrote, I’ve moved cities twice, attended a conference put on by German educators, moved into a dorm with seven other girls, most of them who don’t speak my language, learned that your skills with chopsticks can come and go with surprising abandon, and started my work with children in communities affected by the latest earthquake here in the Sichuan province.

{^^scenes from our week in Ya’an, China}

I’ll share more about my impressions of the conference at another time…it was kind of a long week, and due to translation issues (i.e. straight from German to Chinese with no English included…) it was at times rather long-winded, but I did get to take to very helpful workshops, art therapy and movement therapy.

Now, I’m in Lushan, which is a county in the Sichuan province. I’m 90% sure we are in Lushan city, but I know the county is correct :).

                                                                                              {^^scenes from our first few days in Lushan, China^^}

While the most recent earthquake here in April was not nearly as devastating as the one in 2008, it did damage many homes and cause around 200 deaths and 1500 injuries. I’m not even sure the number of homeless it caused, but there are many, many tent communities in the city. We are currently just working at one, but this may change (that is the mantra for this trip: “this may change”). In addition, our work primarily consists of playing with kids so far, but that WILL change, next week. Then, all of the kids in the area will be on summer break, and we’ll be able to start our English camp.

While the language barrier remains massive (my brain cannot even PROCESS Chinese into anything but fast, gurgly, occasionally lyrical, occasionally guttural noises) it has provided some hilarity. We’re having fun teaching our roommates English (and they’re teaching us Chinese…) and so far, their favorite word is “watermelon.” It’s become a “Marco-Polo” thing, with them chanting “watermelon” and us chanting “she-kwa” (Chinese for watermelon) back. It’s always funny trying to teach our translator a new word, or when she busts out Google translate. The words always pop out really proper–she was attempting to tell my colleague her nose was red and the only option was “it looks inflammatory.”

Due to the earthquake, the Chinese government shut down all travel in the area, so we are the only foreigners for miles. However, I’m not sure this has been a travel hot spot in the past, because we get so many stares and cat calls and horn-honks (and no, I don’t think my beauty and grace is attracting all of this–just my fragile pale skin and my weak blue eyes and my red/brown hair). We’ve been in many pictures–both with our permission and without. The Chinese are not shy–they will blatantly snap a picture of you like I do of cute animals (and sometimes cute kids). My favorite was a woman sitting in front of us pretending to do a selfie, then sneaking us into the photo…at least that’s kind of polite, and better than the guy who just sticks his phone in my face!

Well, I unfortunately got a wee drop of killer Sichuan oil on my shirt, so I’m off to use my handy dandy Tide To-Go stick (thanks, Mom!). That stuff is killer in spice, and in ability to stain! I’m not sure my mouth (or this white shirt) will ever be the same. The oil also tends to deteriorate any chopstick skills I may possess because it’s, well, oily. Mind you, my skills are hardly anything to write home about (although who’s kidding, I totally did) but now I’m dropping things all over the table, in other bowls and on other people’s plates. Can you believe I still don’t know how to say sorry in Chinese, and instead respond with my number one word: thank you??

^^see that Sichuan oil? It’s neon! And, well, kind of delicious…

Now that we have semi-reliable internet, I’ll be able to update you more, so don’t forget about me!

xoxo

I hope you enjoyed this little blast from the past! I can’t believe that was a year ago now.

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Upon our return to Beijing, we headed to a major site we had yet to see: Tian’anmen Square.

While the Tian’anmen Square doesn’t necessarily trump the Forbidden City or the Summer Palace in Beijing, it is impressive, historical, (and a reminder of prior tragedy), in it’s own right. It’s also one of the biggest (or THE biggest, depending on the source) squares in the world, and walking around the unforgiving pavement you can certainly feel this. Don’t let that stop you, though, because it’s a must-see in Beijing. Just make sure to hydrate, or those unforgiving miles may make you REALLY feel that beer you stop for afterwards (not that I know anything about that…).

One side of the square is marked with this:

Directly opposite, the square is bordered with this monument:

And you can’t forget the middle:

But the part you REALLY can’t forget is the mausoleum that displays Chairman Mao’s body. (Which I did not snap a picture of, because there were a lot of guards around it and I’m a scaredy-cat).

Yes, you can see his body.

And, no I did not.

First of all, I did happen to see Ho Chi Minh’s preserved body in Hanoi, Vietnam, many years ago (okay, try three) and I think one passed Communist leader’s remains is might be enough to see in a lifetime (although that’s obviously just a personal choice). Also, viewing hours are only in the morning, something to remember if you ever happen to visit.

Nearby Tian’anmen is Qianmen Street, a fun, touristy shopping area full of little alleys like this:

Qianmen is a good way to end a trip to Tian’anmen–we grabbed some souvenirs, traditional Chinese noodles in a centuries-old building, and some green tea ice cream, along with our beer.

Although Tian’anmen feels like a strangely closed-off area for a public square (there are rigorous security measures before you enter, and they don’t allow ice cream, which I learned the hard way) it feels massive and, on a clear day, has the best view of the sky I’ve found in Beijing–they even restrict building height around the square.

^my two fellow students and our tour guide for the day, a graduate student from Beijing.

As you can see from the final photo, Tian’anmen captures the spirit of China in a unique way: mysterious, with beautiful architecture; massive, with half-forgotten and tragic history; protective, yet wide open and crammed full with people. China is a country of enigmas and Tian’anmen is no exception.

This is letter T for the A to Z Challenge!

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It was our last day of work, and we were having a celebratory lunch with our colleagues when suddenly they decided it was our last chance to go see the Great Wall. One minute, we were eating Peking duck, and the next minute, we were racing back to our rooms to get ready in twenty minutes.

As was typical in China, I can’t imagine trying to get to the Great Wall by myself, without our translator and her driver (again, I know). I’m sure it’s possible, but the language barrier is so strong, I’m not even sure I could do it without a tour. I consider myself a fairly savvy traveler.

After about an hour-long drive out of Beijing (I had no idea it was so close to Beijing…I didn’t know much in China), we arrived and got in a long line for a tram up to the most popular section of the Wall.

Our first twenty minutes on the Wall were crowded, and stressful, and full of snapshots of us and all around us. I heard about six tours giving the spiel of the history of the Wall. From eavesdropping on these tours, I learned that, when someone died while they were building the Great Wall, from being overworked, they were merely thrown into the Wall, meaning we were, according to legend, standing on a graveyard.

Nice. And not surprising, given the treatment we had seen of the people in China firsthand.

I also learned that there are many other sections of the Wall to visit, that are less touristy, and that the Wall does not actually span the entire country, as there are plenty of mountain ranges to help protect the country. It’s also not visible from space (bummer!) and was almost immediately breached.

While it was fun to listen to these tours, I was very happy we were able to hike a little ways away from the crowds and tours, and it was there that I fully realized I was standing on the Great Wall of China. It felt utterly surreal. I definitely may have cried a little bit.

Then, it started to rain. I was glad that the heavy air wasn’t just smog, but also contained water, because it looked pretty gross when I thought it was all smog. I, of course, ended up way behind the group, taking pictures and savoring, so I had to run down the steep, slippery stones to catch up. It was a moment of total joy, laughing to myself as I slid down the Wall.

We were in the rain for awhile, as we’d taken a weird route, the long way, which we didn’t realize (again, typical), and when we finally got off the Wall, the area was abandoned.

Except for two men selling ice cream, which of course we had to buy.

The rain was torrential now, and to our dismay, our translator informed us we had exited a spot on the wall that was about two miles away from our car, waiting to take us back to Beijing. We convinced the ice cream men to give us a ride (which they wouldn’t do without a price, of course) and we drove the muddy, half-flooded roads back to our car. It was a terrifying twenty minutes, as cars all around us were stuck in the mud, crashing into each other, and at one point I flew from the back of the van to the front. No seat belts, yo.

We did make it back safely to our warm car, and drove away from the chaos. We were soaked, freezing, relieved, giddy, in awe, stressed, and exhausted.

(sorry for the overload of photos! I just couldn’t narrow them down more!)

Today I am linking up with Bonnie, Tina and Melanie for Travel Tuesday, one of my favorite blogger link-ups! 

This post is letter G for the A to Z Blogging Challenge. Click the image below for more information, and to check out the many other awesome bloggers!

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(Note: I do not mean this to be offensive in any way. After all, I’m sure English to Chinese translations are just as funny, and I appreciated the translations, such as they are. Also, these images were taken on the go with my phone, so some are blurry…sorry! You can still get the gist, I hope!). 

Thank you for the soft reminder.

First floor for your children’s hairy toys!

Thanks for the positivity on a random tissue box, China! I needed it. 

An environmental advertisement. 

Is it possible to start a forest fire while taking photographs??

Pedestrian beauty spot, indeed!

Love, the world, panda. Or, love the world, panda? Or, love, the world panda?

What boyfriend wouldn’t want this lovely coin purse? (Don’t worry, E is now the proud owner of one of these babies). 

Husband and wife lung slice, anyone? 

Or, how about some slippery shrimp eggs?

It’s miscellaneous, but it’s also fantastic. 

I know you want to try some frog wang. 

This sounds more like a proverb than a menu item: 

Finally, some words of wisdom from the menu: 

Not exactly Chinglish, but what is a Magic Panda and how come we don’t have them here in the United States?

This post is Letter C from April’s A to Z Blogging Challenge. Click the link below to check out the other bloggers, and for more info!

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As you may know, I was in China as part of an internship program for my master’s degree from June to August 2013, along with two other ladies from school (who you will spot in the photos below). I have to admit, I’m not sure I’ve completely processed China yet, even though it was months ago now (ah! the ever-turning wheel of time!). When people ask me how China was, I always answer “intense!” and leave it at that.

(Maybe they just want to hear “awesome!” or “life-changing!” or “fine, how are you?” but if I’m going to answer in one word, that’s the word I pick!).

It was certainly intense. It was hard: crowded, polluted, stressful, busy, sad, confusing, overwhelming, and just gigantic. However, I also enjoyed it. The people were fun, generous, incredibly hospitable and just happy to have us there (see the pictures!). Despite the massive language barrier, I feel that I made true friends there, and it was with tears I said farewell.

The language barrier was a large part of feeling confused and overwhelmed. I’ve done my fair share of traveling, but I’ve never experienced the lack of communication I did in China. In Peru, I was enrolled in Spanish classes, and was able to communicate rather quickly, albeit simply. In Thailand, my friend Liz, a Peace Corps volunteer there, was almost always with us, translating everything she could. But in China, even our appointed translators struggled to keep us informed, or were told not to keep us informed as we were guests. Even though I tried to learn some Chinese, the only phrases that stuck were “watermelon,” “I love you,” “thank you,” and “you’re welcome,” as well the type of words you learn playing games with children. This left me often silent and confused, two unnatural states for me.

Despite this, or maybe because of this, China was an important learning experience for me. I felt both completely welcome and very unwanted, often at the same time, which taught me to be grateful for the kind of government I live with now, as stressful and frustrating as it may be. I learned that the world is still giant, and while globalization is rampant, there are parts of the world it’s merely glazed over. China taught me what a true disaster situation looks like, should I decide to follow that career path. China forced me to “go with the flow” and accept confusion, and tried to make me comfortable with the unknown.

Often, when I’ve traveled, I’ve found that there are so many things to see, and just not enough time.

I was not expecting this to happen to me in China, however. I went into China with few expectations, other than seeing a panda and the Great Wall, because I knew I would be devoting most of my time to work. I also mistakenly believed that the China of my imagination would be right on the surface.

Instead, you have to hunt for it. China is in the midst of an Industrial Revolution of sorts, and the China you expect to see has been buried under this progress. It’s not impossible to find–I found it on the Great Wall in a thunderstorm, in a small mountain village, at an old temple in Beijing. The China of my mind and the China in reality left me intrigued, and confused. Even though I was ready to leave when the time came, a part of me still left, wanting more.

So, China, if I have one thing to say to you, it’s this: I think I’ll come back someday. It may be awhile, and who knows how much you will have changed. But, as my translator informed me, “China will still be here, even if you come back as an old lady.”

**Instagram Travel Thursdays are hosted by Skimbaco Lifestyle, an online magazine, both in the form of a weekly link-up for bloggers, and through the hashtag #IGTravelThursday. I’m so excited to join them in sharing some of my Instagram photos this week, and hopefully will again in the future! If you’d like to, link-up below!

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It’s crowded with tourists, students, workers, families. It’s the capital of China, one of the most populous countries on Earth, and Beijing follows as one of the most populous cities on Earth.

Coming from the Wild, Wild West of the United States, Beijing was an assault to my senses. The nonstop sounds, combined with a complicated language I didn’t understand, gave me a constant headache. So did the constant, suffocating smog combined with humidity. My eyes were sore from the many things to see (and the smog probably didn’t help that, either).

Then, in the middle of this giant concrete jungle, we found an oasis.

The Summer Palace is not a sight I ever thought to see in China (nor I had really heard of it…). But, of all the major landmarks in Beijing (and one of the many World Heritage Sites), I loved the Summer Palace the most.

The Summer Palace was started during the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) as a second palace for the emperor. Many emperors have used it since then, adding on, changing the name, and eventually using it as a summer resort, hence the current name. It’s full of traditional Chinese architecture, but unlike the Forbidden City, which is endless miles of pavement, the Summer Palace is on beautiful grounds, many acres of land, with a lake where you can rent a paddleboat and a little canal (complete with a “model village”). It is known as a gem of Chinese Imperial Gardens.

It felt most like an escape to me because, once you got past the entrance, you could actually escape (and pretty easily) the matching-hat tourist groups and families flocking to get the best pictures. It’s easy to climb up a slightly harder trail or slightly steeper steps to get away from it all in the trees. There, you’ll discover lovely pagodas and tiny buildings hidden amongst ancient trees, and pretty views of the lake (despite the smog, as you’ll see). We paid a little extra to go to the little village by the canal and have a beer, and it was quiet and perfect.

It was familiar, and comforting in the middle of culture shock. It was a reminder that I was not in just in any big city, but in China.

There, In the Summer Palace, I found China as I had imagined it would be.

a lovely view of the lake…and the smog.

my travel buddies, K and J.

Tsingtao, my first Chinese beer!

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