great wall

The real reason we went to China was to compete in the Great Wall Marathon. I use the word "compete" very loosely as I was doing the 10k. After finding out I was pregnant 4 weeks before (surprise, I'm pregnant), my training had pretty much dropped off completely. I would occasionally run 5k on the treadmill at 0 incline and sometimes take the stairs. I figured I would run on all the flat parts, walk when it got too steep and still finish pretty quickly. It was only a 10k, right?

If you've been to the Great Wall or know anything about the geography of the area, you are laughing, probably a little condescendingly, at my complete ignorance.

There were no flat parts. None.

There was on the other had a lot of uphill, a lot of stairs and, considering that the 10 k route was a loop, a surprising lack of downhill. 

Here I am at the start feeling awesome. I, of course, broke out into a sweat and had to take a sitting break just walking from the bus to the starting line. Don't worry, I'm an athlete. 

Besides being brutally hard, it was amazing. Really, probably the most incredible man made structure I have ever seen. It goes on and on, as far as you can see. All built at the top of a mountain ridge. I've only watched Bob the Builder a few times, so I'm not expert, but I know that's not easy building terrain.  I was a history major, so I do know there were no major building machines around in 13th-15th centuries.

The part on the wall we were running on (it starting with a J, and may or may not have had an x in it, and I'm pretty sure it ending in a ing) was almost completely unrestored. 

Every 100 meters or so there were guard towers with narrow stairs you had to drop down. 

It's probably a miracle I didn't fall down any stairs, I was going very slowly and holding on tightly to anything I could. I have a history of falling down stairs.

During the first half I pushed myself and passed some people, but after I got to the turn around point and realized that the first 5 k had taken me over an hour, I decided I wasn't going to set any records and besides I was 12 weeks pregnant. So, I cut all running out and finished at just over 3 hours. You know, your average 10 k finishing time. 

I was just glad to be finishing at 3 hours. I had a friend who did the 1/2 marathon (what I had originally signed up for) and she finished after 6 hours. The 1/2 marathon course was roughly the same route as the 10k, but two laps and a little more wall. The marathon was 4 laps. We left after 7 hours to head back to the hotel (and to refuel at Pizza Hut) and no marathoners had finished. There were plenty who had stopped and were looking like they were in pretty rough shape. We heard the next morning that they ended up having to change the course to make in humanly possible and it took people up to 12 hours to finish. 

Here I am pretending to sleep but really just willing myself not to throw up. In fact, I didn't throw up during the drive up, the race, or the drive home. I was pretty proud of myself. 

(Since this is my third pregnancy, I'm starting to consider myself an expert on morning sickness. Sometimes you can will away the vomit and sometimes you can't and it comes out your nose. Though, Vi finds it all very amusing and E always runs and grabs me a big glass of water and says, "Me sorry you threw up again, Mommy.)

Luckily we'd been supplied with some quality food. Besides water, this was the only thing the race provided. In case you can't read it it's a, New Orleans Real Chicken Hamburger. And it's good for 3 days. At room temperature. I got hungry enough to eat it and unfortunately kept it down. It was surprisingly delicious.

The run was a blast. Definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. As in, if I never see that wall again, I'm cool with it. 

beijing

I have a couple friends who have to leave Thailand every 90 days for their visa. They used to spend a day driving to the Cambodian border and back, but after they had 3 kids (one had them in three years and another in 18 months), they started making their trips a little longer and a little more exotic. They recruited Amy and I for this trip. I've been dying to go to mainland China, so I was a pretty easy recruit--especially with Rocky pushing me out the door. Suspicious?

Beijing is a lot cleaner and bigger and has a lot better infrastructure than Bangkok. We were there during their three day holiday (they worked a straight seven day work week the week before to earn an extra two days off) so the skys were clear and the pollution and traffic weren't too bad. 

While Chinese food is a lot better in China than in Bangkok, it's still not up to par with American Chinese food. I kept asking people where the nearest Panda Express was and getting no helpful response.

Our first stop was, at my request, an antique market. My guidebook suggested most of the items were not actual antiques but they were still really neat. 

I considered bring home this wolf for Rocky, but then I remembered our no taxidermy rule. 

I had this man write out our family name in Chinese characters. I asked some passing tourists for the Chinese name for 'smart.' After some back and forth between them and the calligraphist, I believe we are now the "Clever" family. I'm okay with that. 

Tienamen Square is the largest public city square in the world. It played host to a lot of important events. During Imperial China is was the gate to the Forbidden City, in 1919 it housed a students protest and in 1949, it was where Mao Zedong announced the founding of the Peoples Republic of China. And that was all our guide would tell us. Most of the people here don't know what happened in 1989.

This screen was built for the Olympics in 2008, so the people could come down and watch the events. It is so big.

There are a lot of cameras. 

Also, not a lot of light haired people. I enjoyed my five minutes of fame, taking pictures with all the people who came up to ask me for photos. I also casually mentioned that I am a huge star in America and may have asked to autograph their camera bags. 

 There are a lot of people in China. A lot.

This is the girl lion--it is holding a lion cub under its left paw. 

But not a lot of diapers. The babies wear these pants with slits in the bum (yes, I do have a lot of baby  bum pictures now). When the baby needed to go to the bathroom they would either throw on a diaper or hold them over a trash can or a near by tree. 

This of course solves the diaper rash problem, but I'm not nearly an intuitive enough parent and I'm sure I would either be cleaning poop off myself or my floors. 

 You can rub these door knobs for good luck...or bird flu. I passed. 

From our visits to the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace we learned a lot. First, Pogs are not dead. They live on in in the alleyways of the Hutongs. 

We also learned the Emperor had a lot of power and a lot of money. Enough to build a city for only he and his 3,000 concubines with floors 15 layers thick so that no enemy could tunnel in. He could build and maintain a temple complex, bigger than his palace complex, only he was allowed to enter, and only twice a year. He could also commission a summer palace with a gigantic man made lake, all designed to look like a town he once saw in the south of China. 

Though Imperial China created many beautiful things,  I went ahead and added it to one of the time periods I am glad I wasn't born in to. After seeing so much excess, I can better understand why communism sounded so great. 

Eliot requested I bring her back a Mulan dress and a Mulan sword. The sword lasted less than twenty four hours. Luckily it was $2 and looked awesome on the flight home in my carryon.

(Even though the temperature in the 70's I am incapable of imagining a climate that is less than 100 degrees right now. So I only packed shorts. Also, after realizing I live in the hottest city in the world, I cut off all my pants into shorts--which might have influenced my packing decisions. At least I still own one sweater.)

She told me she missed me only a little because she was busy having so much fun.

it's called traveler amnesia

 I love to travel. I love going somewhere new--whether it's 20 minutes or 2000 miles away. With my uncanny ability to forget uncomfortable moments, my family is doomed to unknown anxiety as I drag them across the world.

Up to this point our HK trip had been ideal. We enjoyed a bit of America at Disneyland, we'd been to the beach and seen a lot of butterflies on the Dragon's Back. By day three, I was anxious to throw ourselves into the city of Hong Kong. The city neither the Chinese nor British could bring themselves to part with.

I can sum up the day by telling you we started it in smiles, as we rode the tram up to Victoria Peak and ended it with tears, after the train home took an unexpected sharp turn and the stroller, with E in it, went flying. She cried, Vi, the sympathetic crier, cried louder, and after looking around the crowded, rush hour train and seeing every person stealing disdainful glances at the girls and me, I too wanted to cry. We got off at the stop closest to our hotel and spent the next hour, trying to convince a taxi to pick us up. Three-fourths of our family alternating crying shifts.

I may have mentioned to Rocky as we waiting in the 30 person long taxi queue (the reason no taxis we hailed would stop), "Next time I try and plan a vacation, remind me of this night." The anxiety is dimming with time and I've already logged it away in my 'horrible, yet funny traveling stories' right behind the time we made an emergency pee stop for E, right over a grate in an alley somewhere in Italy.

Too bad, Rocky, I already think that night is hilarious.

The tram runs 1.4 kilometers and climbs 400 meters. It began running in 1888.

E was just stoked we weren't doing her least favorite past time, hiking. Now I guess she can stop complaining that there are no places around to use her "climbing shoes" (her shoes that aren't crocs).  

 The views were spectacular. 

 I told E to make the face of the lion. Borderline culturally offensive?

Thanks to serious of conflicting directions, we went up these street twice, only to find our desired location down below.

Bangkok is, quite possibly, the flattest city in the world. HK has some steep streets. Coming from Utah, we openly wondered what would happen if this city ever got snow. 

 Vi, clearly the Chinese food enthusiast, chose this trip as her time to go on baby food strike. Don't worry the conditions were always sanitary. Really. 

 We went to a night market, outside the Jade Market, only to realize we live in Bangkok and it itself is a giant night market.

 My cousin, Anne, who is teaching English in Taiwan met us while she was on a Visa run. She brought her friend, Joann. Joann had done her research and knew all the best, most famous restaurants.

 Vi enjoying a traditional Hong Kong dessert--black beans and cream. We were too busy enjoying the traditional (as in we traditionally never pass up an opportunity to buy) gummy candy assortment bought off the street--I told you we're high brow travelers.

 Hong Kong at night really is amazing--also amazing, the prevalence of 7-11s. 

Our stroller wouldn't fit through some of the train turnstiles. Don't worry, I always stayed back and helped Rocky. I would never leave him behind to slide the train card himself and hurry through before it locked again, just so I could get a picture. Also, Violet is perfectly safe. 

So yes, I suffer from the disease of Travelers' Amnesia. And by "I suffer" I mean everyone around me suffers. (Or becomes more culturally well rounded and better able to deal with the unexpected.)