I have to say it was a wonderful experience. I'm so amazed at everything that I saw and did, truly unbelievable. And I can honestly say, I would have never visited China if it wasn't for my work. So, I'm very thankful for my job. It was a fast trip. We left Saturday morning and landed in Shanghai on Sunday afternoon. Anyone who knows me, knows I hate to fly, so I was pretty much dreading a 14 hour flight. Thank goodness for sleeping pills! I think I shocked my coworker when I slept for 11 hours, lol. When we landed in Shanghai, the immigration agenet said my passport picture was a lot more beautiful than I am in person. Geez, you think? I'd been travelling for close to 30 hours, sorry I didn't take a shower as soon as I got off the plane! So, we had to drive two hours to Hangzhou, but our driver drove us through Shanghai, so we could see some of the world's largest buildings.
Most people I talked to before I left tried to warn me about the "squatty potties." I seriously thought that they were just pulling my leg. We had to pull over and get gas on the way to Hangzhou, so I had to make a pit stop. Now, I was walking around like a zombie and go to the bathroom...sure enough, SQUATTY POTTY!! I had no idea what to do, but I figured it out. This is a good picture...probably the cleanest squatty potty I used until we got to Beijing, where thankfully, there were normal toilets!
The first hotel we stayed in was a lot nicer than what the website showed, thank the Lord. And my first meal in China was pretty much the same as what I would eat here (shrimp fried rice). I was didn't want to take any chances. We had meetings and a tour of one facility on Monday. Our next couple meals looked pretty much like this:
I was proud that I used chopsticks all week!! And I tried nearly everything that was put in front of me. But I really didn't like the tea...it wasn't sweet enough and the leaves were still in the liquid. I drank a bunch of Cokes. As soon as I finished one, another one was put in front of me...
We took a walk around West Lake in Hangzhou before we went to pick up the rest of our coworkers at the airport. So beautiful...we saw so many couples having their wedding portraits made. I counted at least 15. Once we picked up our coworkers, we drove another 3 hours to WuHu. I love that name, WuHu!! The hotel there was very nice! On Tuesday, we toured another facility and had a few meetings before getting on a plane to Beijing.
Ahh...regular toilets ;) We were starving when we got to the hotel in Beijing, but there was no restaurants within walking distance were open. So, we went to the hotel bar and had pretzels and chips. I drank my first beer ever (and probably the last)...you just don't order water in China, or at least that's what everything I read said.
I'm very glad that I was able to travel with a great coworker who didn't let me get lost or hurt or anything. We were able to take some tours on Wednesday. We got to see one of the Seven Wonders of the World! The Great Wall of China cannot be described with words. It was so amazing, I don't even know what to say. I didn't make it as far as my coworker, I'd still be there because my legs hurt for 3 whole days!! Nevertheless, there is a Chinese saying that He who has never been to the Great Wall is not a true man. Yep, that's it...I went to China, and I came back a true man, lol! 
There were some guys there, that must have thought we were celebrities because they wanted to shake our hands and get their picture made with us. That was absolutely hilarious! I just know somewhere out there in cyberspace, there is a picture of me and some Chinese guys! I love it. Definitely crazy. After The Wall, we went to a jade mine and learned the difference between real and fake jade, and how to tell the different qualities of jade. It was amazing, and I now really love jade!!
Then we got to take a tour of Old Beijing. The Hutongshu in Chinese). Therefore, “hútòng” means “area by the well. There is no longer water under the alleys, but people still live in this area. We had a tour guide and a rickshaw driver drive us down the narrow alleys and tell us all about the history. It was so amazing. We were actually able to eat an "authentic" lunch in one of the residents homes! It was definitely the best meal that I had all week, and the best Chinese meal I have ever had! 
We ended our tours at The Forbidden City, there are no words. So much history. I am getting ready to start a book on the history of China because everything I learned was so amazing! There are 9,999.5 rooms in this palace that was built between 1406-1420. I could write a book right now about it, but here are a few pictures...
Silk Street was an experience in itself. You could get anything there that you would want (it was more than likely a knock-off, lol, but you could get it). All the vendors wanting you to come into your booth kind of stressed me out a little bit, but next time I go to China, I am definitely going back. I'm prepared now.
We had more meetings on Thursday morning, and met a lot of people. We ended our China trip at The Hardrock Cafe!
This was an amazing experience, I'll never forget it! I'm sure I'll be going back, probably sooner, rather than later! Maybe I'll even be able take Mark with me. I missed Emily so much and it was very hard to get used to the time difference. I am so thankful for my home, my family and my job. Traveling to a different country really makes you appreciate where you came from.
