The Two Crabs and a visiting friend from NY recently popped over to China for a few days. Beijing is less than two hours' flight from Seoul - perfect for a long weekend trip out of town. However, it takes some advance planning as China has a complex, costly and time-consuming visa process. Once that was sorted, I turned to some first-hand advice from my A-100 colleagues currently stationed in Beijing, and some current colleagues who previously served there. Unfortunately, the week we visited Beijing was experiencing the worst pollution rates of the year. It finally cleared up...the morning we left! Oh well. Despite the hazy skies, it made for some eerie photography.

We stayed at a wonderful boutique hotel in the heart of the downtown Beijing and very close to the Forbidden City. Met some of my A-100 pals for drinks in a posh bar for a mini class reunion. The next day we hired a car & driver to take us to the Great Wall of China at Mutaniya, a beautful remodeled section of the wall. You can take a gondola or cable car up, and ride back down on a luge-style mountain coaster!

After tooling around the wall for a few hours, we headed back to Beijing and stopped at the Summer Palace. Unfortunately we arrived just an hour before they closed so we basically ran through the complex before they closed the gates.

The next day, we spent the entire day at the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. I knew there would be heavy security at the square but we were still surprised by the amount. All visitors must go through metal detectors and all bags and cameras have to go through Xrays just to enter the square or even a metro station in Beijing. For obvious reasons, there are uniformed and plain-clothes police wandering around, some with zoom lens cameras. There are CCTV cameras just about everywhere keeping an eye on the square. The square itself is rather anti-climactic.

The real attraction is across the street: The Forbidden City. The iconic image of Chairman Mao hangs on the gate to Beijing's former royal palace - the largest palace complex in the world. Make no mistake, this complex is HUGE. You could easily spend two days wandering around here - depending on your patience putting up with the pushy Chinese tour groups. 

 Apart from those sights, we spent the bulk of our time eating our way through Beijing. Chinese food in China bears almost no resemblence to what passes for Chinese food in America. Real Chinese food is WONDERFUL, aromatic, flavorful -- not the greasy, fried, bland, slop that you'll find at any American mall food court. We had Peking Duck at Da Dong (which, ironically, was inside a Beijing shopping mall). This was one of the best meals I have EVER had, and we've been to a LOT of restaurants around the world!

We dined all over the place, from street food to dive restaurants. One of our favorite places was Snack Street, where the adventurous eater can try starfish, seahorse and scorpions.

More food porn:

Another fabulous pastime is just exploring the little neighborhoods around Beijing. The Hutong Village:

 Ghost Street:

That's our quick trip to China. We were surprised at the cost. Beijing is cheaper than Seoul, but not by much. Every attraction like the Great Wall and Forbidden City costs at least $10-$20, unlike Seoul where most museums are free and palaces are only about $3. We enjoyed Beijing, especially the food.

The most unpleasant part about Beijing was, unfortunately, the pollution. Mrs. Crab and friend had to wear masks most of the time we were outdoors. I had a constant metallic taste in the back of my throat (probably for failing to wear a mask), and all of us were coughing and wheezing by the end of the trip. Kudos to my colleagues who are serving 3-5 year tours in Beijing who must have super human lungs or their bodies just get accustomed to the pollution. If you go, be prepared and bring a good face mask with you!  That said, we're looking forward to exploring more of China. 

Next trip: Hong Kong!

I often half-joke that my job in ACS (American Citizen Services) would make an awesome reality TV show. ACS has it all: action, drama, romance, comedy, tragedy...and even the occasional science fiction storyline. Unfortunately, someone already stole my idea. But in this case, ACS stands for Australian Citizen Services.

Australia's Channel Nine has just launched "The Embassy" - a reality show following the work of Aussie consular officers Australian Embassy in Bangkok. If you've ever wanted to experience a day in the life of an ACS Officer, check out "The Embassy". The first full episode is now available on YouTube: 

Full trip report coming soon. Unfortunately we have no Facebook or Twitter access in China. Having FB withdrawal!

Last weekend, The Two Crabs took a quick jaunt to Jeju for a bit of R&R. Located 50 miles south of the Korean peninsula, Jeju is often called "the Hawaii of Korea" - which is quite an exaggeration. Still, it has a few similiaries. It's a honeymoon destination, but now more for Chinese tourists than Koreans. And it does have palm trees and a semi-tropical environment, complete with extinct volcanoes dotting the island. It was Mrs. Crab's first trip to Jeju. But Mr. Crab was here back in 2009 when I was researching the 2010 Lonely Planet Korea guidebook. 

Jeju is a short 50-minute flight from Seoul's Gimpo airport. Many low-cost airlines fly to Jeju including Jeju Air, Eastar, Jin Air and others, many for less than $100 roundtrip if you book far enough in advance. We flew Eastar, which was the pleasant staff and service for a no-frills airline, and no extra charge for checked baggage.

 Before arriving in Jeju, we rented a car from Hertz via Expedia. But when we arrived at the airport, we could not find a Hertz rental desk anywhere. After questioning several employees, we finally learned that Hertz rentals are actually fulfilled by KT Rental Car; you must take a shuttle bus from Jeju airport door 6 to reach the KT Rental Car station. For only $35 a day, we got a small Kia with GPS (in Korean only).

After picking up our car, we headed off to Seogwipo, the main city on the south end of the island, about 45 minute drive from Jeju airport. We went straight to our AWESOME little hotel - Jeju Jungmun Log Pension & Resort. If you're seeking luxury accomodations, look elsewhere. This is basically glamping (glamorous camping). The cabins were cozy but roomy, with a real bed in the upstairs loft area, and a bathroom, kitchenette and living area with TV in the ground floor, plus a patio and upstairs balcony. The resort is located on a hilltop in a working mandarin orange farm with views of the ocean. We didn't arrive at our hotel until almost 9:30pm, but with the help of the English-speaking staff we ordered a pizza and beer at enjoyed the stars and cool views from our balcony.

 On Saturday morning, we hit the road to Seongsan Ilchulbong, a crown-shaped volcano crater rising from the sea. We had a great spot of lunch at Saesom Galbi, which I fondly remembered from my 2009 visit, dining on Jeju's famous black pig. Later that afternoon, we headed to Jungmun Resort, which is the main "high-roller" breach resort area of Jeju with several 5-star hotels, most with casinos. I managed to win $15 from the Lotte Casino! We were oddly in the mood for a good American burger, so we tracked down Gecko Bar & Grill about a mile outside of the resort. 

One of the most curious aspects of Jeju is the fact that there are not one, not two but THREE "sex" museums, which is very interesting when you consider the fact that pornography is illegal in Korea. We checked out Jeju Loveland, which is a sort of naughty themepark with artwork and sculptures created by art students. Most of the artwork is more laughable and unintentionally funny than erotic. 

We were originally hoping to hike to the top of Hallasan, the tallest mountain in all of South Korea. Unfortunately Mrs. Crab was just getting over a cold so we decided to postpone the big hike until next spring. Although it's not Hawaii, Jeju has plenty of activities to keep anyone busy. There are dozens of beaches and museums to explore, plus even smaller islands that are worth a short excursion trip.  

A few scenes from Jeju: