One wonder down...six to go.

First of all, our apologies to those who check this blog with any consistency. Our time in Beijing has been a whirlwind of activity, with everyday seeming busier than the last and time to write an entry has been hard to find.



We (Val, Mark, Moira and Denieve) arrived in Beijing on November 3, that’s right… Val’s birthday! We arrived at the airport and after wandering around for a little while, one of the airport workers ran over to us with a big smile and a big pointy hat in her hands. The hat was blue and gaudy with tassels, the kind you get at Disneyworld. Within the hat we found a note reading something along the lines of “In an airport this size, you need a hat to be recognized, proceed to the Starbucks to find the next hat”. Of course, at the Starbucks we found another hat with another note in it, telling us where to continue this scavenger hunt. This continued until three of us were wearing enormous, ridiculous hats. Within the forth hat, we found a note telling us that we must proceed to the bookstore in order to find or way out of the airport, but of course all we found was Justin looking through books on the geography of northern Siberia or something. Needless to say, it was a wonderful way to be introduced to Beijing and to the fanatical, but efficient, life of Justin Bedard.

Due to the fact it was Val’s birthday, it didn’t take us long to get back to Justin’s, eat a quick but divine meal prepared by the “aye” (maid), and hit the streets of Peking. We had such a great time celebrating our arrival, and more importantly Val’s birthday, that we don’t remember much of it. Hee hee.




The next three days were filled with some very intense sightseeing, starting with THE WALL. Most people who visit the Great Wall of China see the reconstructed, easily walk-able sections which are maintained by the municipality. We, of course, were not about to take the easy route on this one. Justin, you may or may not know, is an outdoorsman. He is the type of outdoorsman who climbs the highest peaks, takes the long and scenic route and is often mistaken for a grizzly bear. So we went to a very isolated and probably rarely viewed bit of the wall, which is actually cordoned off to tourists and visitors. Despite the trekking, climbing and crossing into forbidden areas, it was all well worth it.

The wall is simply massive! Built to keep out any intruders from the north, the Wall spans basically all of China. It happened to be particularly beautiful that day because of the clear, smog free skies as well as the fact we went to a mountainous area of the Wall.


The next day we went out and saw some of the sights that had to do with slightly more contemporary history. For one, we went to Tian’anmen Square, the world’s largest public square. You may remember the picture of the single man standing in front of a line-up of tanks, refusing to move during a (largely unsuccessful) demonstration for democracy. While we were there, someone of some significance arrived and we were ushered to the sidelines very quickly by “guards” (teenage boys, always the case). Nevertheless, it was an amazing sight with unbelievable amounts of tourists.


Tian’anmen Square

We also visited the Forbidden City that day. The Forbidden City contains the many homes and palaces in which the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasty lived hundreds of years ago.


The Forbidden City

Going out and about in China was an experience all in itself. The traffic is about twice as bad as anything I’ve ever seen in Montreal or Toronto and the pedestrian and bicycle traffic is just as bad. Rules of the road are generally disregarded and many accidents do occur, but not half as many as you would imagine.



The scenery in the city is great. There are more cranes being used in Beijing alone than in any other COUNTRY in the world. Buildings go up everywhere so quickly…a constant state of construction and growth. Poverty is generally low in the city. Very few beggars, but they are much more insistent.


Hohi Lake….gorgeous!



We were also very pleased to see the many parks and fairly natural areas still in Beijing. Unfortunately though, the amount of pollutants far outweigh the amount of plants. There is always constant and unforgiving smog over the whole city, except for when we first arrived. This is because of the African-Chinese summit that began upon our arrival in Beijing. The government ordered that all factories pause production and the air was actually quite clean. The joys of an authoritarian state!


A common Beijing phone booth!





Western Academy of Beijing

We also found time to volunteer in Beijing over our three weeks here. Justin informed us that his school was interested in pursuing the idea of becoming a supplier of Fair Trade goods within the community. After considering some ways we could help, we decided that we were in a good position to rally support for the movement by educating the students about Fair Trade. In the end, we guest lectured five classes and were met with wonderful response. We also helped create a curriculum for teachers to use in their classes.




A Tibetan Restaurant with singers and dancers!


A raw quail’s egg that Mark ate.

When all is said and done, Beijing is a pretty swell place. A beautiful culture, a beautiful people, and a beautiful city. We will miss Justin and all the great friends we met here (Ollie, Chris, Stu, Jay and everyone else too), but are very excited to be on our way through China to see what it holds for us.

We are now on our way to Xi’an, a city 1000 km southwest of Beijing. We will try to post again soon!

Peace out.

Valerie and Mark