Day 1 Update - We have arrived!

Those of us who flew on Saturday, December 6th had a relatively uneventful day. Despite the snow in Chicago, we took off on time and had no flight delays. Some of us got upgraded to Business Class which was a joy - we wish it could have been all of us! Each seat had it's own video screen. One of the things we could watch was the flight path of the plane. In the two shots below, you can see that we flew directly north then west over Alaska and then south into Asia. NOTE: you can double - click on any picture to enlarge it.

After we arrived at the beautiful Beijing Airport and once we were all together we headed off for customs. Customs was efficient and fast and we were soon off to pick up our luggage. Thankfully, that also went well and we were met by Prof. Obi, Jenny Pan, Managing Director of China Sense and our host in China, and Steve our tour guide in Beijing. We boarded the bus and were off to our hotel. Pat and Jenny briefed us on what to expect - including how to bargain so as not to pay too much - hint, aim for 20% of the asking price.

Upon arrival, we met up with the the travellers from our group who had come earlier. Some of the Saturday travellers headed off to rest and others went out to dinner. Here's a picture of us at dinner. Everyone used chopsticks - even for the rice :) After dinner, we went across the street to the Donghaumen Night Market and what a sight it was to behold! It is an open air market with all kinds of delicacies for the adventurous eater. Here are some pictures - see if you can read the menu board (double click the picture to enlarge it)... None of us has been adventurous enough to sample any so far, but Ozzie insists that he will before we leave.

The menu board - which one will you try?

The tray right below the vendor is centipedes and the tray to the right is cockroaches.

Crickets on a stick!

Lamb testicles on the left and kidneys on the right.

Delicacies on dispay!

Tomorrow, Monday, we are off to the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, and the Forbidden City.

See you tomorrow!