China Conference - Excursions by spsadventures

      **Tuesday**

      It feels like we just returned from Estonia, and now I'm headed to China. This trip is for work, so I'm traveling without the kids. It's quite a change not having to pack an entire bag for food. I still notice kid-friendly amenities (like how there was a sink at Bangkok airport that was at kid height), but I don't actually need them.

      As noted, I had a layover in Bangkok. It wasn't long enough to leave the airport, but I did manage to enjoy some delicious Thai food during my stay. We arrived in Beijing around 1 am. The airport was fairly quiet, which meant there were only a few staff members at immigration. On one hand, they required us to fill out paper arrival cards, and on the other hand, they took our fingerprints using an electronic reader upon entry. It was a blend of both low and high technology.

      After clearing customs, we needed a taxi to the hotel. My colleague showed the driver the hotel’s name written in Chinese from their website, and off we went. However, the driver took us to a different hotel. While it was the same brand and in a similar area, it wasn’t the right one. Attempt #2: I used my phone to pull up the address from my travel app, which opened in Google Maps and indicated we were only 5 minutes away. The driver followed those directions, and we ended up in a quiet, dark residential area with no hotel in sight.

      Attempt #3: I put the hotel name into Apple Maps, and it directed us to another location about 5 minutes away, which wasn’t where we initially intended. We followed these directions, and thankfully, they were accurate. If they hadn't been, we would have needed to call the hotel for assistance.

      I’m discovering that Google doesn’t work well here. When I connect to Wi-Fi, many sites and apps, including Google services, are inaccessible. However, if I use the data package on my iPhone (even as a hotspot), I can access almost everything. It's relatively easy to bypass the Great Firewall as long as someone else covers the data plan.

      We presented our passports to the receptionist for check-in. He made photocopies of them, created copies of our visas, and scanned everything. Additionally, he had a swipe scanner (similar to those used for credit cards, but for passports) that he used as well. He was quite meticulous. He didn’t speak to us in English but used a small translation device that resembled a thin, old-style iPod with a small LCD screen. He would speak into it, and it displayed the translation text as well as vocalized it, which was quite effective.

      When he saw an Israeli passport, he felt compelled to tell us he supported Israel. That was nice to hear. However, he followed it up with, "because I'm a Muslim hater." Whoa. 1) I hope that was just a mistranslation or perhaps he dislikes theocratic regimes. 2) Many Israelis are Muslims, some of whom are our dear colleagues. He couldn’t have known if we were Muslim, and we certainly don’t hate Muslims. Without diving into politics, that rationale for supporting Israel isn't particularly sound. That being said, it was 3 am, I was tired and sore, and I didn’t have the energy to engage in a nuanced debate via a translation app, so I merely looked taken aback and moved on.

      The room was quite standard for a nice hotel, and I fell asleep almost as soon as my head met the pillow.

      **Wednesday**

      This was fortunate since I needed to wake up around 8, leaving me only about 5 hours of sleep. It was tough to get moving in the morning, but I pushed myself out of bed, took a shower, and headed down for breakfast.

      The buffet offered a fascinating array of food! They had familiar items like cereal and eggs but also served fried rice, stir-fried noodles, egg custards, a wide variety of steamed dumplings, desserts, and fruits. I gathered a nice assortment, some recognizable and some unfamiliar, and went to find a table.

      I wanted something cold to drink but was uncertain about the water source, so I poured myself a glass of soymilk. (The cow’s milk jug indicated it was hot.) However, the soymilk was scalding. It was fine once it cooled down. I really enjoyed the egg custard and one of the steamed cakes. The cake was somewhat spongy and chewy but had a delicate flavor.

      Knowing that I might move slowly in the morning, I ensured I had ample time to eat and pack. After finishing, I still had about 30 minutes before meeting colleagues in the lobby, so I opted for a brief walk around the block.

      The streets were busy but not congested. Most people rode

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