Zurich, Switzerland: 5 & 6 of June 2014

Zurich was stunning. It has the bluest of green river running through the center of town which leads out to a large clear lake. All around are the snow capped Swiss Alps. As Zurich is ridiculously expensive, we only spent one night here. We spent our time walking around the city enjoying the hot summer sun.

I will be honest, I didn't even go to a single museum or historical site! I was just enjoying myself too much. My husband and I went to a grocery store and picked up beers and food for a picnic along the river. It is SO GREAT being back in Europe. (is not was, as I am currently still here) I forgot how amazing the food is. I won’t be eating healthily until I am out of Europe as I just can’t stop eating cheese!

edam & beer, what more does a girl need?!

We grabbed some Edam, olives, sun dried tomatoes, fresh bread, & potato salad and spent an hour or so eating, drinking, and enjoying the sunshine and warmth. I am sure there is more to Zurich than beautiful architecture, scenery, and food, but for the 24 hours I had in the city that was all I cared about.

Swiss Alps over Lake Zurich

China: Beijing to Shanghai, May 19 - 27

China…. Not sure what to say here as, unfortunately, I have strong emotional feelings about this country; not all entirely pleasant. My mother taught me that, “if I have nothing nice to say, then don’t say it at all.” I think I must still listen to those simple but important words of advice as I wouldn't want to offend anyone. The only thing I will say about this topic is now I understand the frustration that the Hong Kongians have towards mainland Chinese.

The good: The Great Wall, 2 hours train ride outside of Beijing, was absolutely breath taking and definitely worthy of one of the Seven Wonders of the World…. And for me, that is about it. The second highlight was meeting up with a friend who was living in China. Having dinner with an old friend was absolutely fantastic, but I could have been anywhere to have enjoyed my time with him.

Our first stop was Beijing which is home to many historical places, such as the Forbidden Palace. The general theme of China was the sardine like feeling you have walking around with hundreds of Chinese tourists. I actually haven’t been anywhere in the world where the main groups of tourists were people of their own country. I am not sure why, but I found that strange. The Forbidden City was packed with hundreds & possibly thousands of tourists, so for me, that took away from the experience. I would say walk around the outside to take in the views which are more interesting.

Tienanmen Square, historically, is phenomenal due to the 1989 Massacre. What is ironic, is that you cannot discuss what happened here. Police are everywhere ensuring that no one discusses the tragedy that happened on June 4th 1989. Our friend who we met up with has lived in Beijing for 16 years, and he warned us that when we go, we must be silent, take photos and carry on our merry way. That was excellent advice, but also almost unnecessary as you could feel the tension towards the West here. If the huge painting of Mao wasn't a big enough hint to keep your mouth shut, the swarms of police made it obvious enough. It was so strange to be somewhere I had studied in history, yet was not able to discuss it.

It definitely was an interesting feeling being somewhere with such infamous importance, yet the people here were not allowed to “know” what happened. The blocks on the internet in China also meant that I actually do not think that the people know what happened there or have the opportunity. Even British Airways’ website was blocked, especially Wikipedia or Google. It was impossible to try to learn or read about any Chinese history whilst in China.  I honestly think that China is attempting to erase it from history. So the heavy amount of police here are to prevent Westerners from talking about it and accidentally informing someone who happens to know English.

Every other country in my travels have embraced their history, good and the bad. Yes, they may have a somewhat under-exaggeration of the truth, but they still have Museums, Statues, and historical sites where bad things have happened, in order to not forget and learn from the past. Fellow Communist country, Vietnam, has an awful history, but the country has embraced it to the best of its ability. Yes, many of the museums are anti-American and rightly so from the tragedies from the war, but it is informative. These museums and historical sites are available to its fellow countrymen and tourists to learn from the atrocities and not forget what happened. China, simply decides to erase the bad; I found this terrifying for the future state of Chinese politics.... but that is an entirely OTHER topic!

Beijing in general was okay…. Really nothing to write home about. It was nice to see a friend and go to the Great Wall. The Great Wall was the only highlight for me while being in the city. When it was time to move on we took the “supposedly” amazing speed train from Beijing to Shanghai.

This experience was ruined by the company among us on the train. We arrived to Shanghai and did the typical sites around The Bund, but in all honesty, we were just done with China. We cancelled flights internally and used that credit to get back to England early. This is the first place I have ever been where I actually just couldn't enjoy myself at all due to certain events whilst here. If one wants to know my reasoning behind this, feel free to ask, I just do not feel it is appropriate to post my negative opinions on the "world wide web".

Shanghai

It is very unfortunate I feel this way as I have friends who loved China. However, for the most part, everyone I have talked to have had the same experiences and even warned me prior to going. I was glad for the warnings as I do not think I would have lasted as long as I did without a few of the warnings. It is a shame as there is so much rich history in this country that would have been so great to see. Please don’t let my negative experience deter you from going. One must try everything out for themselves and create their own opinions.

It could very well have been my own personal state of mind for this unpleasant experience. It could have been because I had spent the past 3.5 months backpacking and I was just ready to get back to the Western world, or I was just done travelling in general and moving around so much, or was incredibly sick for a few days in China and let that influence me, maybe I didn't try hard enough to like this place or accept the mannerisms of the people? It could entirely be my own lack of trying, but I am still traveling and am enjoying myself. So, I am not sure? All I know is that I wish I enjoyed my time in the country more, but I will NEVER be going back to China. 

The 38th Parallel and the DMZ

train station in South Korea to take you the the DMZ

Ok, so going to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) between North Korea and South Korea was definitely an adrenaline rush! There are many tours in Seoul that offer this trip, but we decided to pick the one that was run by the US Army’s USO. Not only for safety reasons, but also it is one of the only tours that allows you to actually go into the DMZ and the JSA (joint security area).

The beginning of the tour is actually quite tame. You get outside of Seoul and start to see ROK (Republic of Korea) soldiers and barbed wire along the river/highway, but other than that it is more informative information on the Korean War. In actuality, Korea is always on alert and in “war time” since the separation of the country. The people and government will never be out of “war time” until the reunification of the country. South Korea takes many steps to try to incorporate North Korea economically and in business. However, I personally think that the attempts are in vain. The North is brainwashed so much to hate the South, something major needs to happen in order for the reunification. Unfortunately, I doubt it would be peaceful, but there is always wishful thinking.

After a few hours of museums, looking at tunnels the north built into the south, and going to an observatory, it was time to head to Camp Bonifas. Camp Bonifas is where the US and ROK soldiers work together to protect the boundary and the DMZ. There are also other UN Nations here sometimes as well. The JSA (joint security area) is also located here. It is where the north and south meet. Also, both countries have meetings here, together if necessary. We were allowed to go into the building where these meetings take place. There is a microphone in here and everything is recorded by the north and the south 24 hours a day/7 days a week.

our feet inside of North Korea in the JSA

in the JSA

After our briefing and signing our life away, we were escorted outside in a two line formation to go see the JSA. Well, the North Korean military were using the room. This was not expected, so we were asked to stand still, not move or talk, and do not walk any further. We got to see the North Koreans leave and go back their side of the DMZ base….. to see the US Army soldiers and ROK soldiers concern made us a little bit on edge. However, nothing happened and we were allowed to go into the JSA where the meetings are held. As this room is over the border, we were allowed to walk to the North Korean side. Which means, I temporarily have been inside of North Korea! When we left we saw the soldiers up high on their post looking at us. We weren’t allowed to point towards them or anything like that as we were being “observed”. The joint governments didn’t want to give them any reason to make negative propaganda towards the western tourists.

the hills are cut clean to ensure no one tries to escape to the South.

After our escorted tour was over, we were told that there are always a few North Korean soldiers that are always there as both sides are on alert all the time. However, they’ve never had that many there at once; especially in the middle of a tour. They said we were quite lucky to have a view of so many North Korean soldiers. So, I would say that the one hour at Camp Bonifas and within the DMZ made the entire day trip worth it. I was glad to get back to Seoul as I was a little creeped out and definitely had my adrenaline running when I saw the North Korean soldiers!!! One of the weirdest day trips I’ve done, but also one of the most interesting and intense !

North Korean Flag inside of Propaganda City