A walk on the wild side

National Holiday officially began yesterday. I had grand plans of cooking, eating, lesson planning, reading grad books, writing grad papers, cooking, eating, and sleeping. Lots and lots of sleeping.

But then my teammate Seth mentioned the idea of taking a quick two day trip to Changbaishan, arguably the most famously scenic spot in Northeast China. More than five years in the northeast, and I have yet to make it to this ‘must-see’ destination–one reason being that it’s not the easiest place to get to. But I told Seth if he figured out the details and if we could convince Kami to go, I’d make the trek. After all, it would only be two days and I don’t know how long I’ll be in the Northeast of China.

Due to limited ticket availability, two days has turned into a bit more than four days. We have beds for the 12 hour slow train there. And seats for the 12 hour journey back. Considering the fact that the seats were only 45 RMB, the train is not likely to be the most…uh, shall we say modern?…of trains. For a little perspective, we pay about 45 RMB to take the fast train for one hour to the big city. It’s trips like this that have great potential for adventure…and stories.

Here’s hoping the destination is worth it, and if not, that at least we come back with a few good stories to tell or a few good pictures to share. The journey begins Monday…