My last job took me to Mongolia and China. Talk about going to the far reaches of the planet. It was a 15 hour direct flight from Washington, D.C. to Beijing and then another 2.5 hours to Ulaanbaatar. The time difference between DC and UB was exactly 12 hours. It's hard to get any farther from home than that, in fact the Mongolian staff called UB the
end of the line. Everybody off the train, there are no more stops after this.
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| In front of the Peace Corps office in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia |
UB is a rather gray and gloomy place that has a distinct industrial type town feel to it. There wasn't much to do or see there and in the middle of October it was cold. There were snow flurries almost everyday while we were there. You'd think a place like this wouldn't leave much of an impression but after having my credit card stolen, getting booted off my flight from DC (even though I had a confirmed ticket) and having to walk to work each day despite the sub freezing temperatures, I will not soon forget my time in Mongolia.
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| The winding path that lead up the mountain to the Great Wall of China |
My colleague Rajiv and I left Mongolia a few days early to spend some time in Beijing before we had to report for work in Chengdu. It was one of the best decisions I made because we wouldn't have otherwise had the opportunity to see the Great Wall, Ming Tombs or the Forbidden City.
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| Atop the Great Wall of China in the driving rain |
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| The Ming Tombs where emperors of the Ming Dynasty were buried |
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| These guards were all smiles until we asked to take their photo |
The visit to Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City was the highlight of the trip for me. If you've ever seen the movie
The Last Emperor you will remember how magnificent the expansive courtyard looked and in real life, it didn't disappoint. Oh and by the way, I dropped my camera in Tienanmen Square and didn't have a camera the rest of the trip. Luckily my colleague did and the rest of the photos were taken with his camera.
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| Tienanmen Square |
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| The courtyard of the Temple of Supreme Harmony |
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| My colleague Rajiv |
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| In the Forbidden City |
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| Checking out the Temple of Medium Harmony |
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| The architecture of this place was amazing |
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| Rajiv and I took bike taxis from the hotel |
You'd think things in China would be cheap but everything was overpriced. Apparently you are supposed to bargain for everything. Even in department stores. For people who aren't used to this concept, a trip to China could end up being very expensive. My dad would make a killing there though, his bargaining skills would surely have come in handy in a place like this. On top of that, everyone seemed to want to swindle us out of our money. For example, the bike taxis in the photo above advertised a ride for 50c but tried to take us for $50. The thought of spending time in a Chinese jail prevented me from wrapping my hands around their necks.
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| Visiting China's most adorable ambassadors to the world |
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| At a popular tourist spot, Jingli Street in Chengdu |
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| How do these guys survive in the wild? All they do is eat and sleep all day. |
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| The HQ crew; Rajiv, me, Umar and Rob |
I hope to take Rach and Maddy to China one day. The Chinese have such a rich and long cultural history, unlike any I've experienced before and I'd love to share that with the family.
Maddy's favorite part of the Merrifield Fall Fair
His fourth time up the wall
Building a Fire Boat
the finished product
Painting pumpkins at Dominics House
Playing games
At Dominic's house - An Ork, Scary dude and Darth Vadar
With Jack 
Baby Alex dressed up as a pirate
Maddy dressed up as a Metal Skull Rider (he outgrew his Ninja costume within two weeks LOL)
Goddess Athena, Goddess Elizabeth & Vampire Mistress
Getting ready to show off their costumes
Dancing while playing musical chairs
Having fun
Dance off
