China Checklist

While in China, I want to cross the following off my checklist:

1. Speak Chinese as much as possible (practice makes perfect!)
2. Learn to play Mahjong.
3. Eat weird street food. Scorpions, frog legs, crickets, etc.
4. Volunteer at the Panda Reserve in Chengdu.
5. Become a chopstick-eating master.
6. Try Tai-Chi.
7. Learn to make dumplings from scratch.
8. See the infamous Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces.
9. Hike one of the nine sacred mountains of China.
10. See the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors (duh!)
11. Sing Karaoke Chinese-style at a KTV.
12. Visit a Buddhist or Taoist monastery.
13. Get a reflexology foot massage.
14. Explore China's night markets.
15. Meet locals.
16. Watch a Beijing Opera performance.
17. Ride a bullet train (the fastest go almost 200mph!)
18. Sample the different varieties of tea grown in China (white, green, oolong, and black)
19. Learn the art of Origami (or at least how to make a paper crane)
20. Try Peking Duck.

Well there you have it! Quite the ambitious list in my opinion, but in the words of Barney Stinson...CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

再见

Sara

First stop: Hong Kong!!!

I feel like a little kid on Christmas eve! No sleep will be had tonight! My flight leaves for Hong Kong tomorrow morning, and I'll be landing in HK on Friday! Can't wait to see this amazing skyline in person:

I still can't believe this is really happening. Anyway, I should probably at least attempt a nap.

再见

Sara

No jet-lag for me, hopefully

I have been reading a lot about the horrors of jet-lag recently, and I have decided that I do not wish to experience it. I'd prefer to spend the first few days of my trip exploring Hong Kong rather than dealing with the side effects of crossing too many time zones.

Therefore, I have done some research and devised a plan of attack that will hopefully minimize jet-lag. According to the information out there, jet lag is caused by a mismatch of the inner clock between that of your home timezone and your destination timezone. The main factors affecting jet lag are:

• Sleeping Schedule
• Eating Schedule
• Sunlight/Darkness

My plan was to try and acclimate my body to China time before I leave. Starting Sunday, I began sleeping and eating according to this new timezone. The light factor is harder to replicate, but during the day I sleep with my eye mask, which does an excellent job of blocking the light, and at nighttime in AZ I keep all the lights on in my room (although natural light would be ideal). Lastly, I take melatonin before going to sleep each day, as this was highly recommended by other travel writers. 

I also found an awesome app that creates a personalized plan for you according to your destination and departure details. It's called Jet Lag Genie, and it's free for download on the App Store. I used it mainly for a guideline though, as the app only adjusts your sleep schedule a few hours, not fully meshing with the destination timezone. This works great if you have work or other responsibilities during the day and cannot completely flip your sleep schedule prior to leaving, but in my case, I wanted to fully switch to China time. 

I hope this works out, fingers crossed!

再见

Sara

The problem with packing...

I am a chronic over-packer. You know the girl that leaves for a weekend trip with three suitcases and a backpack? Yeah, that's me! Usually it's not a big deal. With our American Airlines member status, I can bring two checked bags of 50lbs each and a carry-on for free, allowing me to effectively bring over 100lbs of my stuff with me without much hassle. However, the horrid thought of hauling two gargantuan pieces of luggage onto trains, and through crowded city streets during the humid China summer is enough to make me adopt a new packing mantra. 'Pack Light' is the name of the game now.

I looked at a lot of different luggage options, but settled on a travel pack instead of a duffle or roller bag. After reading tons of reviews and sifting through the available products, I bought the Osprey Farpoint 70 Travel Pack (http://www.rei.com/product/803309/osprey-farpoint-70-travel-pack)
I loved that there was a zip-on daypack that attached to the main bag, and the size was manageable for me. I actually started out with the 55L Farpoint, but realized that I'm not that much of a packing ninja yet, and went for the next size up. Below are some pics of the Farpoint:


The daypack:

The main pack by itself:

Both packs together:

Based on suggestions from other travelers, I also bought a set of packing cubes from E-bags (found on www.amazon.com) to keep everything organized. 

Here's what I packed:

It is interesting to note that the packing cubes helped me fit quite a bit more than I thought possible into my pack. In three of the medium cubes I was able to fit 11 shirts, jeans, 3 pairs of shorts, two skirts, and a swimsuit. Not too shabby!

The heaviest thing in my pack? A three-month supply of hair mousse! All the guidebooks I read said that this particular product is near impossible to find in China, so I wasn't taking any chances!

Here's everything packed away:

Less than 48 hours to go!!! I can't wait!

再见

Sara

Places to go, people to see

Being an only child, the thought of me traveling by myself halfway around the world to a foreign country of which I am not yet fluent in the language was not a pleasant one for my parents. There were worries surrounding communication, safety, and general survival during my trip. But they always support me in all that I do and this time was no different. I promised to call once a day to check in, and to send them a detailed itinerary with where I'll be traveling.

I'm not usually the 'planning' type, and instead prefer the spontaneity of last-minute get-aways and snap decisions. However, planning ahead in this case was probably not a bad idea. I'm sure I'll have enough to deal with without wondering where I'm going to sleep each night, or trying to figure out which train goes to Guilin. So, for the sake of efficient travel, and the sanity of my parents, I drafted an itinerary (click image for enlarged view):

There you have it! The only thing I haven't pre-booked is the weekend trip I want to take to Xi'an during my month in Beijing. I'll figure that out when I get there, but trains leave several times a day, so it shouldn't be too difficult. A few things I learned while planning this trip:

• You can't see it all--I learned this lesson early on in the planning process. I really wanted to make it Zhangjiajie and Shanghai, but there simply wasn't time to fit it in. Maybe on the next trip!
• Trains vs. Planes--The train network in China is quite extensive from my research, but trains take time. The cool thing is that domestic flights throughout China are relatively cheap, especially if you purchase tickets in advance. I used flights strategically to save travel time and spend more hours in my destination. For example, the train from Shenzhen to Guilin takes over 13 hours! The flight, however, is just over an hour and was only $55. Totally worth it!              (For in-country flights, use Ctrip: http://english.ctrip.com)
• Read Reviews--Best case scenario, I would get to inspect hotel rooms before buying. But, I traded in this opportunity for the ability to pre-book. Because of this, I read reviews on every hotel/hostel booked, and checked a couple booking sites to make sure the good reviews were somewhat consistent. For hotel bookings, I recommend Agoda (http://www.agoda.com) and Booking (http://www.booking.com)

More pre-departure info to come!

再见

Sara

Nǐmén hǎo!

Hello everyone, and welcome to Dreaming of Dumplings! 

My name is Sara Boucher, and I am a 22-year old college student currently living in Scottsdale, AZ. I just graduated from ASU with a Bachelor's degree in Business Law, and I will be starting at the USC Gould School of Law as a 1L in August. I've been obsessed with China for years, and couldn't think of a better way to spend my last summer of freedom, than finally seeing it for myself! 

I will be leaving on June 19th, and staying until August 5th. During this time, I will be participating in a 4-week summer Mandarin course at Beijing Language and Culture University in the capital, as well as traveling for a week before and after the program. 

I have ambitious plans to see as much China as I can while I'm there. I'll discuss my planned itinerary in a future post, but highlights include volunteering with pandas at the Bifengxia Panda Base, exploring the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces, learning to cook some mean Sichuan cuisine in Chengdu, and conquering the famed 'plank walk' of Xi'an's Huashan Mountain. 

I can't wait to embark on my journey to Far East! I hope to practice and improve my language skills, learn more about Chinese culture, and discover both the historical and modern sides of this intriguing country. Oh, and eat as many dumplings as I can get my hands on!

再见!

Sara