Summer Travels Part 1: T MATT!

I just finished an amazing 1 and 1/2 weeks with my friend T Matt from High School! It was a whirl-wind of traveling and having as much fun as possible. Since my Picasa Account is nearing its capacity and we took about 1,500 pictures, you'll have to settle with a quick look at what our trip was like:

First Stop: BEIJING
June 21st-23rd
After packing my apartment and leaving it for the last time, I made a trip out Beijing to meet up with T Matt! We made plans to do all of Beijing in three days. It was a wild time, but I think we did pretty good with getting the important spots!

	Our first picture together in China! I met T at the Beijing International Airport.
The couch/floor we stayed at. We used a website named CouchSurfing.org to find some lovely people in China who let us stay for free!
	Trip to the Forbidden City!
Trip to Temple of Heaven!
	Trip To Summer Palace!
Trip to Great Wall at Mutianyu
	Visiting Olympic Grounds

Second Stop: XI'AN
June 24th-25th
On our third night in Beijing, we boarded an overnight train to Xi'an- my hometown here in China! I was excited to show T around and introduce him to my friends!

	Visiting the Big Goose Pagoda
Trips to Downtown and around the City
	Visiting Tang Paradise
And, of course, the Terracotta Warriors!

Amongst the chaos of T and my crazy travels, I had to bid "bon voyage" to Cari as she would leave for America before I returned to Xi'an with my parents. She is currently in Alabama with her family and she'll be back to Xi'an for the next school year.

Thanks for all the help in my first year teaching and joining me on so many adventures this year Cari- have an awesome and restful summer!


Third Stop: SHANGHAI
June 26th- July 1st
Leaving by overnight train again and barely making it (running through the station with 5 minutes until departure) T and I were off to Shanghai! I was excited to get to a new area and city- my first unfamiliar territory since Thailand. We were planning to head to Macau and Hong Kong but discovered that T's passport was single entry. We ended up spending the remaining time in Shanghai and exploring it's surrounding areas.

	Crusing the "Bund" (famous riverfront area) and going to the top of the Pearl Tower
On "The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel..." Words can't describe but our tourist book tried; saying, "it goes beyond the 'so-good-it's-bad' stage to 'mind-bendingly awful" A must see for all travelers to Shanghai!
	A wet day in the Yu Gardens
A day trip to Hangzhou, nearby city with the famous West Lake
	Running around "Shanghai Action Park," a low budget amusement park with the worlds largest rip-off of the Disney ride "Small World"- awesome!
A day trip to Green Haven, a huge park/recreation center. We rode a tandem bike, visited a submarine and "barbecued."

Departure: BEIJING
July 1st-July 2nd
We left Shanghai in a hurry (much like leaving Xi'an). I was an idiot and booked a flight for the wrong night. Once we finally worked things out, we had to sprint through the nearly empty airport to our terminal. Finally in the plane and sweating, we made our way back to Beijing of one last night. In the morning, we visited the Lama Temple that is about 50 meters from the hostel we were in.


That one is for you, Eric ;)
After our final subway trip together, we made our way to the Airport (early this time...) and parted ways. We left each other with some minor sun burns, literally thousands of pictures (and more memories) and a plethora of inside jokes that one can only obtain from an adventures such as this ("Peeeeach? Icy Peeeeach?", Demons!, Visits from Mr. B.U., Dekunut Tree, "Ship? You want Ship?", Frogs stuck in unregistered cabs with cross-dressing hippos... and many, many more! Feel free to jot some down if you remember any T).



I miss you already DVD USB Drive, but I can't wait for our next rendezvous- wherever it might be! Thank you so much for making the trip out here to see me (...well, and China, I guess)!

Ma-guais For Life!


Next?

I have about 6 days before my mom and dad arrive in Shanghai! After landing, they will fly to Beijing to meet me here. I can't wait to do it all over again with my parents! In the meantime, I'll be resting and spending a lot of time in the hostel's restaurant using the free Wi-fi to keep in touch.

Thanks for reading! See you soon Mom and Dad!