Life Improvement Tips For The Wise Few

We got an early start in the morning, and began packing and getting the kids ready. Imani my eldest daughter was making mockery of the little bit of Japanese words she learned. It really pleased me to see how much they were enjoying the trip. I honestly believed they wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much, because it was my dream not theirs.

After a nice warm breakfast in that awesome hotel, it was time to call a cab and plan our next trip. The kids said goodbye to their new found friends, it was a very sad moment, because they had grown found of each other and the tears started rolling off their faces, it almost made me feel like crying. I warned the kids and told them to be very careful, because this is a huge country and we would see more people in one day than the whole population of St. Maarten. With that said we headed for the Airport, the kids were really sad, but that didn’t last very long, once we departed they got all excited again, and started talking about how they would hook up with some new Chinese friends this time.

The flying time was really short, just under three hours, and we got a midday flight, so we would be able to see lots of China before night fall. Once we arrived in China it was another moment of stares, the buildings really looked like in those Karate movies. It was just so funny, because I never believed that by just thinking of something so intensely, it could actually come to past. This moment was so real, it was like “dejavu”, everything I had pictured in my mind and in my dreams was really there in front my eyes. I had to pause for a moment for this to sink in, and for me to realize that this was… no dream.

We got a cab and headed to our Hotel, we were heading straight to the city, we chose to stay in the city this time, because I really wanted the family to get a real close up on the busy streets and the tall buildings. We got out of the cab in front of the China World Hotel, it was located close to some of the hot spots and that is why my wife decided for us to stay there, they say that China has some of the best shopping malls in the world, and I can vow for that, it is true.

Must be honest and admit that the ambiance here in this Hotel was a little too business like, and that didn’t sit well with me. I really wanted to get away from all the business people and just enjoy my vacation. While chatting with the front desk clerk, he told me that you knew this Hotel is part of the “China World Trade Center”, and they were having a top conference this weekend.

I knew of the hotel being part of the China World Trade Center, but I had no clue they were having a conference. I told the clerk, that we would only be staying for one night, and if he could find a similar hotel, a five star category type Hotel that would attract many of the conference visitors, that we could enjoy while here for this week. Their English speaking skills was much better than our Japanese friends.

He got us into a great Hotel, the name of it was…

Grand Hotel Beijing, was breath taking. I gave the clerk a $100 dollar tip. When your rich, money is no bother, just learn to give and more will come your way. And, you don’t have to be rich to give. The price was much higher than the first place were we stayed for that one night. He had registered us for the Ambassador Suite. I can’t recall the clerk’s name, but he was really nice, and did help us find a comfortable place to stay. I did tell him, that money nor price won’t be an issue.

When we got to the room, it was like heaven (well, I’ve never been there, but that is the only way to describe this suite) and earth blended together in one colorful atmosphere. From our room we could look down and see the Forbidden City.

No kidding, it was like heaven, we were treated like emperors and served the best of the best. The food we ate was well prepared and the aroma was just… can’t find a word to describe that. You will have to taste and smell that for yourself.

The same day we got a couple of maps, and everyone got to pick their favorite spot they wanted to visit. And that is how we spent the days, visiting all those famous mausoleums and monuments. Too numerous to mention. My wife loves Karate movies, and she decide that no way she would miss seeing the monks in action. We visited a temple with real monks, talk about mannerism. These guys were as real as can be. I did enjoy that.

We took a tour of Hong Kong, and even got to visit Suzhou, the lingering gardens were just unbelievable, and we took many pictures.

Now, for a fun moment. When we were visiting the Great Wall of china, my kids and their mother was pushing and tugging on each other to see who would get on the wall first and take the first picture. I have landmark on that wall. if you ever decide to visit, look to see if you can figure out who left this mark: “I dream of great things, and I made it to China, guess who?”

The most amazing moment was when we saw a grocery store. You have to see this to believe this. A traffic Jam in the store with the amount of people shopping at the same time. No, we did not go in, we just witnessed this and took a couple of pictures. The days went by fast and all I can say is, China was a blast. We really enjoyed ourselves.

While preparing to leave, we got a surprise visitor, it was the clerk we had met in the other Hotel. That was really sweet of him. He wished us a safe trip home and went to work, while we got a cab, and before we knew it, we were flying high on our way home.

Wake up… it’s over, this is the end of that dream, now comes the big moment. Will this remain a dream or will I someday get to really do the things I wrote in this post?

I can honestly say, that this post really made me feel like I have been to those places and I know you all have been there with me, we traveled together, across the globe and back. Now it’s time for you to go dream your own stuff, leave my dream alone, I have to fulfill this one.

Don’t you have a dream that you would like to fulfill?