Surf, Sleep, Spa

Our trip to China was nothing short of spectacular and has rightfully earned a spot on my list of the Top 10 Places I'm Glad I took my Kids before They Grew Up.

Once we got back to Singapore I had just enough time to unpack, wash clothes, and fill the fridge before my solo adventure began. That's right. For the first time in my adult life I took a trip (that wasn't work related) by myself. It all started at a mom's coffee meeting. I was having breakfast with a group from Miniman's school when we were joined by a Mom that had just returned from a trip to Bali. She told us all about the surfing, the clubs, the shopping, and that fact that she went BY HERSELF. Wait, what? Moms go places by themselves? Hand to God, it had never occurred to me that a grown woman with a husband and kids might take a vacation that didn't revolve around family or friends.

I had really, really wanted to learn how to surf when we were in Bali in August but ran out of time. The idea of a solo trip intrigued me but I kept feeling that, as a stay-at-home-mom, going somewhere exotic by myself was greedy and extravagant. The funny part was that I didn't think either of those things about the mom at the coffee meeting. So anyway, I started planning a trip to Bali for the whole family when The Man informed me he wouldn't go. He was training for a 50km trail race and the trip would interfere with his training. I couldn't just delay the trip until after the race as it was already mid-September and October marks the beginning of Bali's monsoon season. I had to choose between not going at all and going by myself. Just for laughs I checked out plane ticket and hotel prices and was surprised by how much they had gone down since it was the end of tourist season. I took this as a sign that I should go. Alone.

My friends enjoyed teasing me that this was my Eat, Pray, Love trip but I was quick to retort that at this point in my life my novel would be titled something more like Surf, Sleep, Spa. I arrived late Friday night, contacted my family back in Singapore, and slept like death. Saturday I took my first surf lesson, spent a few hours in the spa, shopped, and slept like death. Sunday I surfed, spa'd, and caught my flight back to Singapore. Surfing was a lot harder than my kids made it look but I enjoyed every single minute. Any hopes I had of being a natural on a surfboard were quickly dashed and I spent most of the first lesson like this:

and this:

and this:

But by Sunday I could do this:

I'm totally ok with the fact that I'll never go pro. In less than 48 hours I learned how to surf somewhat, bought great souvenirs, relaxed at the spa, and was ready to return home well rested and refreshed.

Unfortunately, my absence at home had been a total disaster. The Man got sick Friday night right after I left and spent the entire weekend in bed. Miniman had to miss a birthday party he was looking forward to attending because I wasn't there to take him and his Dad was too sick to go. BGC was forced to spend her weekend fetching meds for her Dad and keeping her little brother alive. When I walked through the door Sunday night I was greeted by three people who vowed not to ever let me leave them again. Baby Girl Castello hugged me the hardest. I think that weekend gave her a little insight as to what my job really involves and she wanted no part of it. Good thing I got all that sleep in Bali.

Train to the Terracotta Warriors

There were basically four options to get from Beijing to Xi'an to see the Warriors: 1) plane 2) train 3) automobile 4) bus. As far as option 1 was concerned, we have taken our share of planes so flying seemed too ordinary. Option 2 was intriguing as trains are a huge part of Chinese culture and the way millions of residents undertake long distance travel. Option 3 was too expensive. Option 4 just wasn't going to happen. Apparently the kids and I were the only 3 people in China that don't smoke so the thought of spending hours on a crowded bus that was a glorified cancer factory wasn't appealing. If I'm going to give up a lung it's going to be for something amazing, not someone else's cigarette. Also, bus travel isn't all that fast and I didn't want to lose a lot of time in transit. Option 2 was the clear winner as the train was overnight so we wouldn't lose any daylight hours.

Miniman was able to travel for free as long as he slept with me which meant we'd be sharing our four bed cabin with two total strangers. As the kids and I had never travelled by train before, I had no clue as to train etiquette. For instance: Do you tell the other people in the cabin goodnight when the lights go out? No. Do you wear pajamas for an overnight trip or sleep in your day clothes? Sleep in your day clothes. I didn't see anyone in pj's. Who decides when to turn out the lights at night or turn them on in the morning? This is decided for you. At a certain time an announcement comes on the loud speaker nicely telling everyone that it's late and time to go to sleep. Another announcement tells you that it's time to wake up and start getting ready for your arrival.
Our arrival in Xi'an was met with absolute chaos. There weren't any signs to tell me where to go and there wasn't anyone to ask as no one spoke english. No one. There were buses and people and tour groups everywhere and I had a hard time finding the one bus I was looking for. My kids were the only non-asian kids that I saw and everyone wanted to touch their faces and their hair and get pictures of them and with them. It was enough to make me start to panic a little. About the time I started to really regret the decision to travel to Xi'an by myself with the smalls I stumbled upon the elusive bus I was looking for that would take us from the train station to the Warriors.

The terracotta warriors didn't disappoint. The level of detail in the faces, clothes and animals is mind blowing. The three hangars that house the warriors are laid out in large rectangles which means there is plenty of space for viewing regardless of the hordes of tourists. The site itself is actually lower than the viewing platform so you're looking down on the remains of Qin Shi Huang's army. Many warriors have been put back together and are standing upright but many more lay in piles of random heads, torsos, clothes, etc. Not all of the artifacts have been uncovered and it was interesting to see a working archaeological dig site. As much as Miniman and BGC are not sightseers, they really loved seeing the warriors and learning about how they were discovered and how experts think they were made.

On our way to the train station to catch the overnight train back to Beijing, we stopped at the onsite Subway and enjoyed sandwiches we could just of easily have been eating in America. The Subway in Xi'an sells Corona and the dichotomy of eating an American sandwich and drinking a Mexican beer while in Xi'an, China didn't go unnoticed. It really is a small, small world after all.

Our trip got off to a bit of a rough start but turned out to be one of the things my kids talk about the most when we talk about China. I guess new experiences aren't always easy but are almost always worth it. Now that we had walked on the Great Wall and viewed the warriors in their final resting place I could afford to just relax and enjoy the rest of what China had to offer.

Got helmets?

There were two things I absolutely had to do before I left China - set foot on the Great Wall and see the Terracotta Warriors in person. I told the kids before we left Singapore that we would do those two things regardless of cost, inconvenience, weather, political strife, sickness, health, attitude or mental competence and I wasn't joking.







I've learned the hard way that my kids are do-ers and not see-ers. Sightseeing is not their idea of a good time so I knew I needed to find a fun way to get them to the Great Wall. Beijing by Sidecar offered trips to the Wall in a reproduction sidecar motorcycle and had rave reviews on Tripadvisor so I signed us up. The tour would include the ride itself, a long hike, and a french picnic lunch on a less touristy part of the Wall. The reviews were right. Watching BGC weave through the crazy Beijing traffic in the motorcycle driven by someone I had known less than 15 minutes was alarming but she was thrilled. Miniman was riding in my lap and pretended to steer the motorcycle by clutching the rim of the sidecar and leaning to whichever side he needed to veer. The ride was amazing, the picnic was yummy, and we had the Wall all to ourselves. The hike was challenging to say the least but Miniman and BGC powered through without any help. Our hard work was rewarded with views like this:

I woke up very early the next morning when I heard strange sounds coming from inside our room. After a few seconds I realized the sound was Miniman dreaming about the ride and making motorcycle sounds in his sleep.

My bucket list just got a little shorter.