This summer was the first in many years I didn’t get to visit family in Beijing. However, I’m glad I had the opportunity to come back during winter break, because it gave me the chance to enjoy hotpot under normal circumstances with my grandparents. At the end of the day, I think it’s the small moments like this one that I will remember most vividly when I look back years later.

My cousin Fan Wei and her husband picked me up around 9:30 this morning, and we headed promptly to Jing Shan Park (景山公园), one of Beijing’s famous historical landmarks. Although I had probably been here at some point in my life, I had forgotten all about it, and today turned out to be quite the refreshing experience. Jing Shan is essentially a mountain with 5 pavilions on it, 2 on each side and 1 on the peak. Each pavilion symbolizes something different, and each was previously occupied by a unique Bodhisattva, until they were looted by the Eight-Nation Alliance during the invasion of Beijing in 1900-1901. It was a beautiful day, and the view from the top of the mountain was stunning. Jing Shan lies directly on the invisible line that divides the city into its east and west halves, and from where we stood, we got a great view of the rear gate of the Forbidden City. After we descended the mountain and made our way through the rest of the park, I was presently surprised by the amount of activity that was going on. From practitioners of Tai Chi to people jumping rope and kicking 毽子 (Chinese equivalent of hacky sack), to calligraphers writing on the ground using large brushes and water as ink, to scores of people gathering around and singing folk songs, there was an inescapable feeling of “old Beijing” (老北京) in the air. The sights and sounds reminded of the Beijing I fell in love with as a kid before all the skyscrapers and automobiles took hold.

After Jing Shan, we headed off to 南锣鼓巷, a historical street buried deep in the historical hutongs of the city. It is now serves as a unique shopping and culinary experience for foreigners and locals alike. We took our time wandering through the shops, stopping to taste some of the famous local food such as stinky tofu (yes, it smells bad, but tastes delicious), homemade yogurt (more flavorful than any froyo I’ve ever had), and triangle cakes (a thin outer shell filled with red bean paste). We had lunch at a restaurant called 鬼味, which is famous for its many-flavored chicken wings. I even had some wasabi wings, which ended up being a bit more tame than I expected. Still I was thankful to have plenty of soda to wash it all down. 南锣鼓巷 is adjacent to 沙井胡同, where my dad’s family used to live, and where I spent a large part of my early childhood. About 5 years ago, the government tore down the family’s neighborhood, and my family was forced to relocate. As we walked by the neighborhood today, the old house was still a pile of rubble. My cousin said it’s probably because the developers ran out of money, but deep down inside I wish that they are taking their time to restore the neighborhood to the way it used to be. There is so much history ingrained in each of Beijing’s hutongs; their slow disappearance marks the end of an era.

After our journey down memory lane, we visited Wang Fu Jing (王府井), our last destination of the day and one of my favorite places in Beijing. It’s one of those places that’s designed to appeal to tourists, because in general the shopping is pretty expensive. However, many locals still go because some of Beijing’s oldest and most reputable stores are  located there. The store we went to today, Li Sheng Sporting Equipment (利生体育用品商店) is one such store. I bought my dad a new ping-pong paddle and some ping-pong balls for back home.

Tomorrow, I’m visiting my cousin Meng Meng’s house. It’s my first time going, and also the first time seeing him since he got married, so I’m looking forward to it.

The flight from Newark to Beijing was a quick one. (Okay, 14 hours in the air is no walk in the park, but it certainly seemed to pass by pretty quickly.) I’ve learned a few things from flying so frequently, and I’m sharing a list of things below that I’ve found to make my flying experience as comfortable as possible.

1. Always have your documents in a readily accessible place. It’ll save you a lot of time and prevent unnecessary frustration.
2. Know how to pass security quickly. Wear shoes that you can take off and put back on easily. Don’t put a lot of stuff in your pockets. Make sure your laptop is easily removable from your backpack. And if don’t want to deal with the pain of removing your belt and putting it back on, just don’t wear one. Small things add up, trust me.
3. Bring a variety of entertainment. Yes, I did watch 6 movies on the plane, but I also read a magazine, listened to music, and read through part of a book. Bottom line is, the more you keep yourself occupied, the faster the flight is going to seem. And if you’re one of those people who can sleep anywhere, that’s even better.
4. Don’t skip out on meals. Airplane food is notorious for being bad, but in my recent experiences, the cuisine on international flights has improved immensely to the point where I now look forward to eating on the plane. On yesterday’s trip, I managed to time all my naps perfectly so that every time I woke up, I would eat a meal, then go back to watching movies. Rinse and repeat.
5. Don’t wear contacts on a long flight. They’ll probably dry up on the trip and you’ll have to remove them anyway.
6. The easy way to deal with jet-lag: stay up and don’t sleep until a reasonable hour. The most common mistake that people make is sleeping too early, which causes them to wake up too early…and thus the vicious cycle continues. Get it right the first night and you’ll be able to get over jet-lag much faster.

That’s all I have for now, hope everyone found it useful

I really wish I had someone traveling with me on the way back, because I’m really not looking forward to the trip. I have to make two transfers, one in Tokyo and one in Minneapolis (with two-hour layovers in between), before I’m back in New Jersey. I miss the no-hassle service of direct flights, especially my experience from last year, where I managed to purchase a relatively cheap business class return ticket with my “frequent flyer” miles—needless to say, it was hands down the best flying experience of my life. But then Delta merged with Northwest and the latter’s partnership with Continental ended, along with any chance of my using my miles to purchase a direct ticket to and from Beijing. All in all, it’s going to take me around 24 hours to get home, though with the time difference, it’ll still be Thursday, when I get back, which is weird when I think about it. Anyway, I still have to finish packing and take a shower before going to bed early; I have to be up at 5:30AM tomorrow, and I prefer to do so with a full night’s rest.

Earlier today (Monday), I traveled to my grandparents’ house in Mai Zi Dian, where I’ll be staying for the rest of my time in China. It feels good to have visited all of my closest relatives after nearly a year of absence. All in all, it’s a good change of pace, and it’s a trip that I’d like to keep making every year for as long as possible. I spent a good portion of my childhood here, so I always feel like I’m coming back to a second home rather than just visiting.

Of course, no trip to China would be complete without my getting demolished by mosquitoes, and as if to prove a point, one mosquito gave me no less than 20 bites last night (my very last night at my uncle’s)! FML.