Vacation Highlight: Train Travel

The first time I experienced train travel was on my way to Versailles. I don't really count it though because it was a short trip, and I was still in a foreign-land daze.

The next time I took a train was from Paris to Bern, Switzerland. It was a 4.5 hour ride from one country to another - can you imagine?! It would take longer to get from Vancouver to Edmonton.

When I was in Bern, we went on a day-trip to Interlaken, again via train.

This time it was awesome. We stood and had a sandwich and a beer for lunch, followed by a smoke - at the train station. Yes, you read that right, I was able to smoke, inside the train station. yesssss!

We couldn't finish our beer before our train, so we took the can onto the train.

Sidenote: This was very common - people walking around drinking alcoholic beverages. Usually just beer, but even in Paris, people were casually strolling and drinking and smoking and it was the best thing ever.

The train-ride to Interlaken was beautiful. Lakes snuggled into the foothills of the Swiss Alps, the snowcapped  mountains, well it was splendid.

Check it out:

Of course, not all train travel is happy travel - the ride from Bern to Paris was depressing as shit. And it was late, but the cops all of a sudden were on board, so I think we may have been smuggling a criminal or something.

Also, is it weird that I didn't have to fill out any paperwork going into France or Switzerland, and they didn't even look at my passport going or leaving Switzerland?! Does anyone else find that strange?

Anyways, trains are awesome and I wish we had more access to them here. That would be great.

I'm sorry, that was HOW much??

After spending three hours strolling through the Forbidden City, we headed out to find some food.

We stumbled upon some random food joint and with much relief, sat dow.

I, like any unprepared foreigner, expect my tourguide - in this case Jarod - to handle all communications.

Since he has lived here and is essentially a bit of an 'egg' he knows what to get and he doesn't disappoint.

One of the things Jarod mentioned about BJ before we left was that beer and smokes are CHEAP, but as per usual, I didn't believe him.

I should have trusted him.

The beer at lunch was 4 yuan. Which roughly translates to $0.80!

Can you imagine?!

And, AND, that was for 580mL.

I almost died.

No-No City

On our first full day, we had been dying to sleep in, but that totally didn't happen. Up at 8AM, our day started awfully early.

We walked to Tiananmen Square, where Steve was accosted by a random Chinese dude. Buddy asked (we think he asked, Jarod's Mandarin isn't that good) to get his pic with Steve, which was fine and dandy, but then he planted a kiss on Steve's neck - HA!

After wandering around the Square for a while, we headed across the street (which we could barely see with all the smog) to the Forbidden City.

What is there to say about the Forbidden City? It's VERY old, it's very pretty and it is fucking huge.

Beijing is definitely the most foreign city I have ever been to, but it is also the most historic. Ok, well Lonjdon may be as old, but it didn't feel that way.

It was weird to think that the stones I was walking on had been walked on for six centuries.

Also, another thing I noticed at the No-No City - in China, I am exotic.

Hold your breath

When we landed in Beijing, I was totally unprepared for a couple of things:

a) The smell
b) The temperature

It is hard to describe the smell. It wasn't garbage or rotting anything or sewer or anything like that. It was ... just hard to handle.

And the temperature, well I have totally become a Vancouver temperature wimp, but my ass was COLD!

After an hour-long bus ride to the hotel, listening to the annoying tour host talk about the the most auspicious tours available, we arrived at our hotel, which was surprisingly nice.

We went upstairs, slipped into something more comfortable and went exploring.

One of the things that excited me about this China trip more than anything was that Beijing is Jarod's New York. He lived there for about a year and LOVED it.

Our hotel was perfectly located a block from Tianammen Square and the Forbidden City.

After walking around the area, we began the hunt for food - Steve was getting hun-grumpy.

Because it was so late, our options were limited. But we found a nicer resto (with the best dumplings ever) and ended up paying a bit more than we expected - and by that I mean like $20 CAD.

After dinner we headed to the Sanlitun district where Jarod used to cause trouble in.

While we were too tired to get in any serious trouble, I did experience a first: the squatter.

It is self-explanatory, but I have included a link, just in case. Call me a spoiled North American, but I like my toilets to be toilets. I hate the squatter.

After the beers, in a bar where smoking was permitted, we headed back to the hotel and got ready for our first full day in Beijing.

You drink too much!

Who thought a 12-hour flight could feel so long?

We boarded, we waited an hour for cargo and then we took off. The booze was free (yay!), but we totally got judgement. The fucking flight attendant actually said to me (me!) 'You drink too much!'

Yeah, well don't be a fucking bitch and do your job and get me a fucking beer.

Idiot.

Air China flight attendants are the WORST!

We played Catan, a dice game, fell asleep and woke up with five hours left on the flight.

WHAT!?