TR(tdl/sdl/hkdl)-> This Is Where Your Dream Begins; A New World in Every Chapter. COMPLETED 12/8!!!

[katt789]

Tuesday October 25th

Our first morning in Hiroshima! We were up around 8:30, got ourselves ready & headed out to the sightseeing bus stop. We'd been there barely a minute when Kara realized we hadn't checked what time the bust STARTED running.



#derp



It wasn't for another few HOURS! Luckily, our destination wasn't too far on foot (another reason we had chosen that hostel) so we set out on an adventure! The first stop was the Peace Memorial Park,

v1 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1873 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1874 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1861 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1864 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1870 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr



Wandering through took us to the Children's Memorial, which was FULL of paper cranes, and even pictures made out of tiny & different colored cranes!
v7 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
v8 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
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IMG_1885 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1886 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1887 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

v11 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

The story behind the cranes is of a very young girl, she was a mere 2km away from ground zero, escaped, and managed 3 months until she started showing symptoms of leukemia from radiation poisoning. Apparently her hospital roommate told her of the Japanese legend that one who folds 1000 paper cranes is granted a wish, and they taught her how to fold them. There are multiple stories onto whether she completed the 1000, and was buried with them, or whether she finished a bit more than half, and her classmates finished the rest, or if she hit her 1000 and her classmates folded another 1000 that were buried with her. Either way the story ends, it still holds a very strong place in the Hiroshima Memorial.

IMG_1889 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1890 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1888 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr



I specifically enjoyed the one of Obama.



We wandered over to the A- Bomb Dome last, there were too many tour groups in the first part of the park, and TONS over at the dome, so we picked a bench across the river to hang out on for a bit. The walk through the park had been rather somber, it brought up feelings & questions like how the human race could suck so much, how long it takes before sights of immense tragedy & horror go from a place people quietly go to pay their respects for the lives lost, go to mourn their friends or family who were killed, to a tourist attraction. A place where people take selfies, smiling and laughing with their friends, how long did it take for Hiroshima, Ground Zero to change into a place tick off a travel list? How long would it take for Pulse to turn into that? (edit…even at time of us being in Hiroshima there were already people going to Pulse taking selfies and throwing up peace signs…meanwhile I couldn't even make it through the episode of Glee I watched last night that had a "shooting" in it completely unexpected……)



Our little bench talks started out with that, (you'll notice there isn't a single selfie or picture in front of anything but the cranes). We moved along to a bit of a political talk after that (not gonna write ANY details on that because I know everyone has their opinions, heck, we're Canadian, AND the election will have already happened by the time we get back...and definitely by the time this gets posted!) It was only natural that we somehow ended up talking about Disney, favorite characters, rides, our first time in the parks. I seriously don't know HOW we progressed through conversation like that, but it's what best friends do, and it was lovely. We'd noticed the crowds around the actual dome had lightened up, so we walked on over there to check things out.

v12 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1898 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1904 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_1913 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_1915 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

 

[katt789]

Hiroshima Castle was the next logical thing to see, and it was an easy walk that way! It was a neat castle, very vast & large grounds.

v13 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v14 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v15 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1927 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr



You could pay to go in the castle & up to the top which I'm sure had a glorious view, but we opted out, lol, seeing the castle was nice enough!

IMG_1936 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

v17 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v18 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1945 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickrv19 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr



Half the day gone, we were hungry, and 3 weeks of ramen, sushi & udon was catching up with us, all we wanted was a BURGER! Luckily, there was some Wi-Fi, and we were able to find a restaurant with American food for lunch! The place itself reminded me of a little dive bar, kinda sketchy, but decent. Though the beer was outrageously priced, so we stuck with water. The burgers however, WERE AH-MAY-ZING! They REALLY hit the spot & were JUST perfect!! ETA: I HAD COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN ABOUT THE BURGERS UNTIL I WAS WORKING ON THE TR AND LET ME TELL YOU, MAN OH MAN THEY WERE SO FREAKING GOOD!!



After lunch we were both craving dessert, and I really wanted a nice glass of wine. We wandered around the streets of Hiroshima for a while, discovered another Daiso, bought some more cheap stuff we didn't *really* need, and found a PET STORE WITH PUPPIES!! I dragged Kara in & nearly had to drag her out after she discovered the ADORABLE PUG PUPPY! Seriously, she could've stayed in there all day!! There were so many cute animals in there!!

v20 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

k2 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

k3 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

k5 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

Eventually, we said goodbye to the furry friends, and gave up on finding somewhere open with what we wanted & picked up a bottle of wine & snacks from 711!! Legit... 711 BRAND wine, lol. Kara & I decided that maybe we'd try to be social while we enjoyed our treats (and figured this was the kind of place that would charge us if we spilt red wine on the sheets....hahaha) so we brought our wine into the common room to drink. Guys... I've never been in a more quiet & awkward hostel common area ever! It was 100% quiet, no one was talking, and when we walked in everyone stared at us before going back to their own lives.



#whatevs



We sat there for a few hours going through old Disney pictures and talking about all the memories we had from before we met; before our stomachs were wanting more than snacks & we knew it was time for dinner. There was an Italian restaurant directly across from us (like so close we could still connect to the Hostel Wi-Fi!) and we ended up with a cheese pizza to share & some more wine & sangria. We then hung around there having a "vacation" evening reminiscing about times during our program and just having a good relaxing time! It was so nice to have spent so much of the day relaxing, talking & just enjoying each other's company!!

 

[missangelalexis]

Sounds like a great first day at Hiroshima!

 

[MomoMama]

Oh, Hiroshima!
I, too, feel wired that people are taking smiling selfies there. I have been there long time ago when I was a kid, waaaaaay before this "selfie" and tour group era. I don't remember seeing smiling faces there. Things seem to have changed. I was 11 or 12, old enough to learn about the war, and was about the same age as the girl of the peace statue. I remember the mixed feelings I had ...feeling uncomfortable, uneasy, scared, sad...can't really describe. Whatever our political views, we all want peace!

Sounds like your trip was a great mixture of touring, good food, and fun time with your friend. Really wonderful!

BTW, those purebred cuties are so expensive in Japan! I am a pug fan too, and hope to have him someday!

 

[katt789]

Sounds like a great first day at Hiroshima!

It was great!! A very different style of day, but we still had a wonderful time!

Oh, Hiroshima!
I, too, feel wired that people are taking smiling selfies there. I have been there long time ago when I was a kid, waaaaaay before this "selfie" and tour group era. I don't remember seeing smiling faces there. Things seem to have changed. I was 11 or 12, old enough to learn about the war, and was about the same age as the girl of the peace statue. I remember the mixed feelings I had ...feeling uncomfortable, uneasy, scared, sad...can't really describe. Whatever our political views, we all want peace!

Sounds like your trip was a great mixture of touring, good food, and fun time with your friend. Really wonderful!

BTW, those purebred cuties are so expensive in Japan! I am a pug fan too, and hope to have him someday!

Yes!! I feel like that's how I felt about 9/11, I was in about grade 6? Maybe a year younger, and didn't really understand the whole thing, the Pulse shooting is right up my alley though, so I get the whole thing a lot more now (hauntingly fitting that today is the 1 year anniversary too) Peace is the goal, always.

It was a great time!! I'm so lucky to have found Kara & have similar travelling styles as her, it works out great!! Ha! I BET!!! Kara does have a pug right now, his name is Timon and HE'S ADORABLE, lol. She wants about 50 more, lol!


Also thank you to both of you for constantly reading & replying!!! I feel like this trip report is so long that some people ahve lost interest! Hahaha!

 

[katt789]

Wednesday October 26th

Morning guys!! What's the most logical thing to do EARLY in the morning after a night of a few glasses of wine?! Why, go on a bus adventure of course!! Kara had figured out the way to get to the JR station to get to Miyajima earlier, so we were taking the tram! It was cute and trolley like, but also didn't take the Pasmo cards we still had (with money on them... Eck). THEN we realized we were going in the WRONG DIRECTION!! The cars & trams on the same side of the road go different directions, and that majorly threw us off! We quickly paid, got off & clambered on the next tram that would take us where we needed to go.

Only then we realized it turned the wrong way! UGH! However it was at least going to Hiroshima Station so we just stayed on and took the long way to the railroad! Aaaaand we had to pay again, ugh. LUCKILY, the train and ferry over to Miyajima was covered by our JR passes so we didn't need to worry about that!

Neither of us had realized that the island was SO close to the mainland either! You could see the floating tori from the boat dock!
k2 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

The ferry dropped us off at the opposite edge of town, so we were able to see the gate & the beachfront on our ride over, then it was adventure time! We wandered our way through the first bit, noticing that chans really must not actually go to classes in Japan BECAUSE THEY ARE JUST ALWAYS ON FIELD TRIPS! Seriously they were everywhere!!! There were also some deer on this island too, but they didn't seem to be very nice & there were signs all around saying to be careful, especially in autumn mating season since the males can be aggressive!

The waterfront was cute, lined with shops & tourist type places. We stopped at the side of the Tori Gate for a little photoshoot.

IMG_1948 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1950 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1952 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

There is a Shrine that you can get a central view of the shrine from, but it cost money, and there were huge crowds going into it as we passed the entrance so we opted to skip it! The town was quite small on this side, some shops & restaurants, all still closed. We ended up on the opposite coast of the bay we'd first stopped at and had another little photoshoot.
IMG_1959 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_1962 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

And yes….you betta bet Kara made us go explore around the Pagoda….bahahaha

It rained a little bit while we sat on a bench enjoying the sea air, eating some snacks, but nothing heavy enough to be worried about! There were also some school kids taking what looked like class photos on the beach... Random? Or the usual? Who knows?!? Lol.

IMG_1966 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_2000 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_2002 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

Yeti was super happy to have made this adventure

k6 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

I was getting hungry, but also having the struggle that I had close to no cash left, certainly not enough for a meal, so we began to wander the streets looking for food that accepted credit card, or an atm.... Could be a struggle here! Especially since most places still hadn't even OPENED for the day! I did end up picking up a little pastry filled with apple flavored custard to tide me over! It was tasty! And not too sweet! The apple cut the sweetness which was great cause we were both so over sweets right now!

k1 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

Eventually, we came up to a window full of plastic dishes of curry, they were open, AND THEY ACCEPTED VISA! Perfect!!! We were the ONLY people in the restaurant, so we were very well attended to! Kara & I both got the prawn tempura curry with rice & it was delicious! We paid & made our way through the streets, half joining in with a tour group along the way. I joked, saying if we joined up & followed them along all day, I wondered how long it would take until someone would notice that we weren't actually part of their group, bahaha!

Kara & I tried to kind of figure out where we were heading but ended up just exploring randomly, finding our way to a pagoda and some great views of the island!

v1 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v2 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v2(1) by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

Our aversion to sweets quickly ended when we passed a Gelato shop that had MILK TEA GELATO!!! WHAAAAAATTT?!?! SO EXCITED!!

IMG_2033 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_2035 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

k3 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

It was SO GOOD! I'm so happy we stumbled upon it!! Ice cream in hand we had almost decided to call it a day,but we'd reached low tide, so we ventured closer to the now, not so floating tori gate.

IMG_2011 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

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[katt789]

We were almost heading home when I knew we couldn't leave without stepping on the BEACH! Like, actual beautiful sand, ocean waves, amazing BEACH! I promptly took my shoes off, dumped my backpack & proceeded to wade around in the water. There's just something so amazing & peaceful about beaches, and I'm partial to the ones a little chillier, not scorching like Florida. They're so calming, to sit there watching the waves, and especially at the coast, to be in ocean water that is the same ocean that touches back home, in Vancouver, incredible.

IMG_2039 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

k4 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v7 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v10 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

Kara & I naturally had a huge photoshoot, did some random gymnastics & dance moves, face-timed with Abby for a bit and really just enjoyed our last day in Japan. Kara even played Happiness is Here on here phone! Lol

v8 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v17 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickrv18 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v19 by Katt McCluskey, on FlickrIMG_2046 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

The deer kept CREEPING UP on us over the course of our beach time. They were so quiet you wouldn't realize they were there until they were IN YOUR FACE! One was also tagged, and I'm guessing it's cause it had a weird, milky eye... It was creepy. We were sitting there minding our business when I brushed my hair back AND THERE WAS LEGIT A DEER LIKE AN INCH FROM MY FACE, naturally, I swore, probably super loudly, and scared it…

GUYS I LEGIT SCARED THE POOP OUT OF IT! It flailed a foot or too, then pooped all over the beach and Kara & I collapsed into a fit of giggles. I WISH WE HAD CAUGHT IT ON VIDEO

v23 by Katt McCluskey, on FlickrIMG_2078 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

Deer fiasco over, I continued on with my modeling career;

v22 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

And proclaimed "I'M A MERMAID"

v24 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

IMG_2081 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

I made Kara do some hand stands….

v25 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v26 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

Before the trip, I'd been hoping to get back down to my Pre-Disney weight, and hoping to get some of my flexibility back, but life gets in the way, so I opted for some yoga poses to be my "go to" for the rest of the trip!

v28 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

Shoutout to self timers

V29 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
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V31 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

After a few hours, we figured it was time to head back to reality & civilization, and headed back to the ferry to get home. Miyajiyama was one of our FAVORITE memories, and it was mainly because of that time spent on the beach with each other. We spent so much time reflecting on Japan, how it truly had stolen our hearts and how we felt like we belonged there, and how we almost didn't want to go to China because Japan was HOME.

IMG_2067 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_2085 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

Kara had expressed MAJOR interest in doing one of those geisha transformation experiences in Kyoto, but we somehow never managed to get around to it, so this is the best she got:

k8 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

Kara & I started to pack a bit, before we started to STRESS out about HOW we were getting to the airport the next morning since our flight was so early & the subway wasn't running yet! There was a bus, but not wanting be confused & stressed about it in the morning, we took a walk over there to sort things out tonight! Luckily, it turned out to be easy peasy & we didn't have to buy tickets til the next morning! On the way back we stopped by the Pet Store for Kara to say bye to her lil pug friend, and then stopped for some burgers for dinner.

Back at the guesthouse, we finished packing, and took LOOOONNNG hot showers. We knew the water wasn't great in China, and wanted to be as clean as possible. After setting a 4:00am wake up call, it was finally goodnight on our last night in Japan!! Waaaahhh

 

[missangelalexis]

Beautiful photos! Especially love the photoshoots on the beach! I'm sure it was sad knowing you were leaving Japan, but yay for more adventures to come!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Looks like a nice last day at Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea - sorry that you didn't get to see/meet more of the characters you wanted though

Those Mickey shaped burgers are pretty cool!

I found that when I was at Hong Kong Disneyland that it was hard to find "to go" food (especially when you needed it - like when your friend was waiting at your spot for show/parade)

So sorry to hear about the lost memory cards - I can't even imagine how broken up I would have been! Glad you were able to keep a bit of a positive attitude and realize it could have been worse!

Nice pictures of Matsumoto-jo - and I can understand why you were glad to be there when it was quite ... just the serene feeling makes it even more beautiful

How great you did some group outings - that sounds so fun! Looks like Pongyi was a good choice of place to stay!

The Arayshiyama Bamboo Grove definitely looks very cool, and just different

"I was also SUPER nervous about the monkeys being loose" - there is something you don't say everyday!

Those Tori gates look really cool and something just to take in and appreciate - bummer about the crowds and "tourists"

haha, the deer selfies are great!

(ok, breaking this up since I was so far behind)

 

[TheMaxRebo]

continued ....

The greenery at the parks is very pretty - but I totally get wanting to see it when it was in the fall colors

bummer about the salad!

That's pretty cool about the kids learning their English and coming up to you to ask you questions, etc.

Interesting set up with the beds in the hostel in Hiroshima

haha, I've seen those mask things before and some of them are super creepy when you put them on!

The children's part of the park/museum area was very neat - thanks for sharing the back story of the cranes

that floating Tori gate that you can then go out to in low tide is very interested and neat

Glad you had that nice time together on the beach to sort of reflect on your trip so far and prep for the next part of your adventure!

 

[katt789]

Beautiful photos! Especially love the photoshoots on the beach! I'm sure it was sad knowing you were leaving Japan, but yay for more adventures to come!

Haha thank you!!! It was an amazing time, and we were super sad to leave Japan, heck, we're still sad we had to leave lol, Kara said she was reading this the other day just crying wishing we were back there lol!

Looks like a nice last day at Tokyo Disneyland and Disney Sea - sorry that you didn't get to see/meet more of the characters you wanted though
Those Mickey shaped burgers are pretty cool!
I found that when I was at Hong Kong Disneyland that it was hard to find "to go" food (especially when you needed it - like when your friend was waiting at your spot for show/parade)
So sorry to hear about the lost memory cards - I can't even imagine how broken up I would have been! Glad you were able to keep a bit of a positive attitude and realize it could have been worse!
Nice pictures of Matsumoto-jo - and I can understand why you were glad to be there when it was quite ... just the serene feeling makes it even more beautiful
How great you did some group outings - that sounds so fun! Looks like Pongyi was a good choice of place to stay!
The Arayshiyama Bamboo Grove definitely looks very cool, and just different
"I was also SUPER nervous about the monkeys being loose" - there is something you don't say everyday!
Those Tori gates look really cool and something just to take in and appreciate - bummer about the crowds and "tourists"
haha, the deer selfies are great!
(ok, breaking this up since I was so far behind)

It was a really nice last day, I'm bummed we didn't catch Es, but I'm sure we'll see her next time, she'll be priority lol!
They were tasty too!! Yeah!! All the plates & stuff were all real plastic ones, not ones you could throw away, it was just the burgers that had it in Tokyo!! Ugh, it was horrible, BUT, definitely stayed positive!
Thank you!! It was an awesome time, I LOVED the bamboo grove & tori gates lol, but the deer were probably my favorite!

continued ....

The greenery at the parks is very pretty - but I totally get wanting to see it when it was in the fall colors

bummer about the salad!

That's pretty cool about the kids learning their English and coming up to you to ask you questions, etc.

Interesting set up with the beds in the hostel in Hiroshima

haha, I've seen those mask things before and some of them are super creepy when you put them on!

The children's part of the park/museum area was very neat - thanks for sharing the back story of the cranes

that floating Tori gate that you can then go out to in low tide is very interested and neat

Glad you had that nice time together on the beach to sort of reflect on your trip so far and prep for the next part of your adventure!

Yeah!! I'm bummed but hey, again, just an excuse to go back!!!
It was so cute!! I'm so glad we got to experience it!!
Hahahahha WE LOVE them so much, and they're so cheap, i'm so glad we found them at Daiso here too!! No worries! I definitely had to look it up, but I do like to share more background on some of the places we go to make it more interesting!!
It was SUCH a perfect day!

 

[katt789]

Thursday October 27

Are you ready for one hell of a day? Cause we had TRIED to prepare, done all the research, but man oh man were we not ready for the ordeal that was about to ensue. I have NO pictures from today, so bare with me as I make you struggle through it with me, bahaahhaah.

Back when we went to book this flight, Kara booked before me since I was at work. When I went to book on my break, I confirmed the flight numbers with her, and noted the stop over in Shanghai. When I clicked book, the CTrip app popped up with a warning saying that our arrival in Shanghai & departure were at DIFFERENT airports, so our layover would include CHANGING AIRPORTS ON OPPOSITE ENDS OF THE CITY.

yup.

Kara did her research & knew there was a bus connecting, so we figured we were golden.

Okay. So, day starts with our alarms going off at 4am, we jumped out of bed, dropped off our "keys" at check out and made the trek to the bus station. Kara wanted one last milk tea so we stopped at 711, which gave me the time to take out cash too! Well... I DERPED SO HARDCORE!!! It was early in the morning, I meant to take out 3000¥ but ended up with 30000¥ by accident! Last day in Japan and I end up with the equivalent of $300! Man oh man!

I bought the bus ticket with it when we got to the station, but that was only like, $15. Lol. The bus to the airport was fine, we both slept most of the way & it took SO long to get there, longer than we thought it would, but we managed.

Of COURSE, we get there, get in the pre check security line to check in, to find that our flight had been delayed.. TWO HOURS.... That left us like, an hour and a half between flights to CHANGE AIRPORTS OHHH NOOOO! They also wouldn't let us check in yet because of that delay. Beaten down we retreated to a food counter for coffee while we waited nearly 2 hours. I exchanged what was left of my Yen, and finally it was time to check in! Yay! We did a pre-screen of our checked baggage, and then went to check in. They reminded us of the flight delay, and then did something completely unexpected!! They moved us to a later connection flight with no worries! Whaaaaat?!?! We thanked them so much, and then had to wait to go through to our gate! It irked us a bit but once we got through we saw that the gate was TINY! I also immediately regretted not buying udon outside beforehand as there were very limited options! It didn't really matter cause we boarded right away & I was able to sleeeeep! But not before the woman from the check in desk tracked us down to make sure we had back up paper work to make sure we got on a second flight! AND gave us directions for the bus transfer to the other airport for freeeee! I love you Japan!

Kara poked me awake to eat & we were pleasantly surprised to see that it was a full meal, not just a snack!!

We landed in Shanghai, picked up our bags & cleared customs suuuuper easily, I was surprised. This part of the journey was totally fine, but it was about to take a turn for the worst. We were struggling HORRIBLY to find where the heck we were supposed to be getting our tickets for the free bus. The people at the information booth then started YELLING across the airport at us to see if we needed help #obnoxious we go up to them & they tell us you need to go to the 3rd floor, someone else tells us 3rd floor, someone else tells us 4th floor... Which doesn't exist.. We wander around getting more & more angry & grumpy & stressed. Eventually wander outside on the 3rd floor, where a man who spoke great English tried to help us out. In the end, we got on the bus (which was on the FIRST floor? Btw) and end up paying for it because we just NEEDED TO GET OUT OF THERE.

Takes us over an hour to get to Hongqiao airport, and go to check in, wait in a long line to be told that flight was cancelled, and to go to the rebooking counter, where she waves in a random direction. We try to find it, no luck, ask the girl at the entrance to the check in lines, she says any line, even though we were just in one that shooed us away. We get in another line, Kara bails to the rebooking line (that we finally found) and the guy is COMPLETELY ignoring her. I bail into the standby flight line & shove my way into the front like everyone else is doing, and manage to get us booked on a flight to Beijing.

Struggle is... It boards in like, 10 minutes. We RACE through security and to the gate, to find that naturally, its been delayed, with no definite take off time. Ugh.

Kara & I got food & ended up playing heads up for a good couple of hours, which was definitely the high point of the day!! We hadn't heard any announcements when she saw people lining up! WE WERE BOARDING!!! Yaaaaayyy!! We did end up sitting on the tarmac for nearly an hour but they had the entertainment systems on for us & gave us some water. We eventually took off, I watched Pirates of the Caribbean, got SUPER excited about all the Pirates stuff in Shanghai Disney, and we got a real meal again!

When we landed in Beijing, we realized our options were rather limited...originally we were landing MUCH earlier, now it was nearly midnight. The metro wasn't really what I felt like conquering in a new country at that time of night, we hadn't arranged a shuttle with the hostel because of the earlier arrival time, and Abby wasn't replying to any of my wechat's about how much her cab ride was. Frustrated, and with no internet access, we followed a giant crowd into the giant cab line, eventually got in one & one heck of a freaky drive later, FINALLY found ourselves at our hostel. The cab driver dropped us off at the end of an alleyway, and pointed that it was down there, uhm…okay…it was kinda freaky, especially because we were CLEARLY tourists. I took this shot later on in the week, there were definitely less people around this first night!

K3 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr


It was one heck of an insane, busy & frustrating day, and we were just glad it was over!! Downside, it! Was! Freeeeeezing! Even inside our room & under the blankets, like what the heck?!

 

[katt789]

Friday October 28

So, PSA, I LOVE interactive updates, and I LOVE to listen to loop music while I write/edit/whatever, so, I was struggling at first for these updates, but HELLO, EPCOT CHINA PAVILLION, so click here for a soundtrack to this update:

Epcot China Pavilion full Music loop

There was still a bit of a funk in the air this morning when we woke up. Waking up that cold just isn't fun! And Abby had been awake since 2!! Ugh!!! Though Kara & I did sleep in a little bit later than planned. We layered on up and headed out into the streets in search of some breakfast. I was rather hangry & getting grumpier by the minute, so I was thankful when we finally decided on a place & got some noodles in what looked like a fast food chain place lol. It was still exciting for Abby since it was her first meal in China!! The three of us wrapped up lunch, and continued out onto the street, we knew the general direction we needed to go to get to Tiananmen Square & area, but it was a bit tricky figuring out exactly how to go about it! First, crossing the streets you went through underpasses, and if you went down the wrong one, you'd end up somewhere random, or just further down the street & not across it! Then there were MULTIPLE security checks! We had to cram into this line up, go through a metal detector & put our bags through an x-ray! They were much stricter on the locals, and they had to show ID to get in too, interesting, but at least safety is a major thing?

IMG_2089 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

v1 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v2 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr



The square was neat, pretty basic, they had a nice big flower display on one side. We basically used it for crossing over to Forbidden City, which we needed to go through another underpass to get to!

IMG_2090 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

v5 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v1 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

a1 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v4 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

That last one's looking back across to the Square.

The front was pretty majestic on its own, high towers, lots of regal red & gold. THEN It was time to go inside. We paid for our tickets, I think we may have had to go through more security, I'm not sure.

IMG_2092 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_2096 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

a5 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

IMG_2098 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr



v11 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

After going through, we came into the first big square of the city where a photoshoot was had, naturally…

IMG_2107 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_2113 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
v9 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

a6 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v10 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

IMG_2119 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

I never know how to pose, so my default after Japan (and Kara's sometimes too) was the "Chan" pose we'd seen so many kids in Tokyo Disney do…

IMG_2121 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

Kara struggled with the handstand today…boots weren't the best option…

IMG_2123 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

v11 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

Then Kara went a little weird with the selfies….
v7 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

v14 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
v19 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
I low key think she might hate my for sharing all these ridiculous pictures, but that's what she gets for posting them to Facebook…[/U]

 

[katt789]

We finished off our shoot of the Main Square up on the bridge to get a different vantage point
16 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
v13 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
v18 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
v20 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
Basically...we should never be allowed to have selfie sticks…

Figuring we should explore onward, we headed to the Gate of Supreme Harmony
IMG_2133 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2134 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2143 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2149 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2151 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
I did my best to take pictures of all the signs, so even if I had no memory of what was going on, maybe y'all could read them and get a briefing of it!

IMG_2156 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr



We spent the rest of the morning wandering through the Forbidden City, it just KEPT GOING! Like, it was huge, which made sense, lol.

IMG_2161 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2163 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

We noticed a little gift shop/coffee shop in one opening and stopped in there for a little bit of a warm up for a while, it was nice to take a break from exploring for a bit.



Venture on we must!! So many neat things in here it's crazy!

IMG_2170 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2179 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
(hidden mickey?! Lol)



Finally we reached the end of the city, the back exit lead into Jingshan park where we paid the teeny fee to head in & explore. There was more security to get in here too!

V24 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

V23 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr

 

[katt789]

We hiked up to the top of the hill where we found gorgeous views looking back over the Forbidden City.

a7 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
K2 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
V22 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
V25 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
V28 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
Of course the mini's had to come out to play!

V27 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2191 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2202 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

All the detailing, and the color was something that impressed me so much!

IMG_2215 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
V33 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
V29 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
It was so neat to see the contrast between the City and the REAL city of Beijing, so much more modernized, that we never really saw aside from thisForbiddenIMG_2235 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_2219 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2222 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr


After a little bathroom break, we found the West exit of the park & crossed the street into Behai park! This was one I was most excited about, so it wasn't a concern that there was an entrance fee again. (All the fees were really cheap too, so it didn't really matter)

IMG_2242 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2247 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
a11 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr


We spent a while wandering around Behai park, dancing around & doing handstands when we found a deserted corner. Though the highlight of the corner, especially for Abby was the DUCK BOATS
IMG_2248 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2249 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2254 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2263 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

V34 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2266 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_2270 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_2277 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

 

[katt789]

Behai was my more liked park of the day, I'm really glad we stopped in there, had fun & got a lot of awesome photos!!

IMG_2288 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

IMG_2292 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2294 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

V35 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2308 by Katt mccluskey, on FlickrIMG_2312 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2314 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr
IMG_2317 by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr


Soon enough we figured it was time to head back. We didn't really want to be wandering around at night, especially when we didn't really know where we were or anything. We checked the google maps to figure out where we were & started the walk home. It wasn't too bad, and easily enough we found our way back to the hostel, stopping for some snacks on the way.

a13 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr
a14 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr



We had dinner at the hostel, some sweet & sour chicken & they had huge, cheap beers.
K4 by Katt McCluskey, on Flickr



Then it was time to LAYER up to GO TO BED! It was seriously like we were camping the room was so freaking cold!!

 

[missangelalexis]

Woof, what a terrible travel day! But glad you both made it ok.

Sounds like a nice first day in Beijing, loved all the photos!

Stinks that it was so cold though!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

That sounds like such a harrowing trip getting from Japan to your hostel in Beijing. Lesson to me is - try to avoid having a layover in a foreign country where you have to change airports! Glad you made it safe and I am sure those noodle you got the next day were like the best tasting thing ever after all of that!

Wow, the Forbidden City really is impressive and definitely bigger than I thought it was/would be. Good to know they have English on all the signs - I am sure that helped quite a bit

Behai park does look really nice - love the duck boats! And you did get a lot of nice photos ... I especially like the ones towards the end of your visit near the sort of weeping willow type of tree

 

[katt789]

Woof, what a terrible travel day! But glad you both made it ok.

Sounds like a nice first day in Beijing, loved all the photos!

Stinks that it was so cold though!!

It was definitely hectic lol!!! Thank you!!

That sounds like such a harrowing trip getting from Japan to your hostel in Beijing. Lesson to me is - try to avoid having a layover in a foreign country where you have to change airports! Glad you made it safe and I am sure those noodle you got the next day were like the best tasting thing ever after all of that!

Wow, the Forbidden City really is impressive and definitely bigger than I thought it was/would be. Good to know they have English on all the signs - I am sure that helped quite a bit

Behai park does look really nice - love the duck boats! And you did get a lot of nice photos ... I especially like the ones towards the end of your visit near the sort of weeping willow type of tree

Lol, that's the truth!! Man, it was stressful, but at least we got there in one piece!!
Lol! It was HUUUUGE!!!
It was super cute, I quite enjoyed it, lol, thank you!!!!

 

[Sarabi's Cubs]

I'm following along now and loving all of your photos! We are travelling this October, so it helps to see what the temps will be like!

Laurie