The Mysterious Orient

I have recently returned from a trip to China, and wish to share my experiences with you. Come with me to the far east, and each day I will delight you with sights and sounds and smells that are uniquely Chinese.

All right, enough of that verbal nonsense. Let's get started.

My husband and I, along with another couple, took a Sinorama tour. A Cultural Tour of China. There were about 270 on our tour, about 30 on our bus, and 8 at our table. It was a great fit, in my opinion. We were a good group, one as diverse as any I had experienced. Although mostly Canadian, we represented nearly all the cultures in the world. I really enjoyed learning with them.

We arrived in Beijing after a 13 hour flight, and bused to our hotel, The Loong Palace. It was late, and due to a rough plane ride, we'd not been fed breakfast. Interestingly, though, we'd been given a cup of noodles mid-flight, the kind your children beg to take for their lunches, but with both a fork and chopsticks. I chose the fork.

Since we were hungry, we headed out looking for food and ending up in a bar where a Brit recommended the pizza. Yup, our first day in China and we ate pizza.

Little did we know how much the memory of that meal would be coveted.