The last time I was in Beijing was exactly 10 years ago and I was 14 years old. Has it changed much then? Yes.

I feel there’s a greater air of confidence among the city life, the infrastructure and cleanliness have improved from the 2008 Olympics, and the people seem prouder than ever. And now being 24 I got to explore a side of my motherland’s capital without the parental filter. But with all its brutally blockbuster (i.e. soulless) buildings overlooking wide city lanes, Beijing would be a whole lot nicer if it didn’t feel so depressing to drive through.

I think the best part of Beijing, however, was walking through the streets at night.

 

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While walking by some of the hawker food stands and taking in all the skewered chicken, pork, and candied cranberries, I noticed a few scorpions, starfish, seahorses, and locusts that were offered on the menu. A few of the creepy crawlers were still alive and thrashing about, most likely because I’m sure they didn’t enjoy the feeling of being impaled.


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Of course, the silly in me decided to give it a go. This is not for the faint of heart.

It tasted like crunchy chicken skin.

 

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I tried to distract myself from the thought of what I just ate by walking further to Tiananman Square.

 

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But of course, the real reason why I came to Beijing was to pick up my pre-approved visa for North Korea:

 

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With that said, I’ll be in North Korea in less than 12 hours from now!

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- At time of posting in beijing, it was 27 °C - Humidity: 89% | Wind Speed: n/a | Cloud Cover: cloudy

 

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