In honor of their departure and to ease my envy, I present my top ten or so experiences (in no particular order) from our trip to China and Taiwan... remember we were fortunate to visit Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, and some of the surrounding areas near these cities, but there remains so much more to Taiwan and China that we were unable to explore.
1. The Rain
Every day that we spent in China and Taiwan, it rained. The heat and humidity was something I cannot explain to you. Stepping out of the plane presidential style (which you all know I LOVE to do), I couldn't bring myself to wave appropriately when I felt the thickness of the air on my skin and in my throat. The rain intervened every day. We had thunder and lightening over our heads in the glass-roofed pool at the Regent Shanghai, and we saw shopkeepers pack up Mao watches, Chinese zodiac mobiles, and tea sets in minutes as the sky opened over Wangfujing Snack Street in Beijing. If I were China, I would never try to cloud-bust to ensure dry days, not even for the Olympics.2. New Foods
I love "Chinese" food in the United States, and I loved the food we had in China and Taiwan, for the most part. It was an adventure that I willingly undertook; food wimps should be cautioned. It's polite to try new things - plus it is part of the fun of traveling - and our hosts were clearly proud to share with us. I found some strange-to-me foods that I enjoyed, like lotus pods, gelatinous meatballs, pea flavored popsicles, stinky tofu, jelly fish, and tiny (thought they were noodles or sprouts at first...surprise!) river fish, native to Suzhou, I think. Of course I found plenty that I loved as well: moon cakes, steamed buns with sweetened condensed milk at Five Wheat, candied grapes, bubble milk tea, lychee tea, new mushrooms, green beer, wurst with garlic, shaved ice sundaes, Peking duck wraps, squirrel fish and other amazing whole fish dishes. There were some harder things to swallow, but Matt, Andrew, Kelly, and I tried everything we were offered. We had goose and duck feet (not so strange to my Hungarian grandmother), grilled cow stomach and intestines, duck knuckle bones, preserved black duck eggs, sea cucumber, and shark fin soup... and Andrew even sucked out the brains of a duck.3. The Great Wall of China
Yes, we went to Badaling, where all the guides books say to avoid because it's so "touristy" and crowded. And we loved it. I loved the curving vistas of wall in the distance as well as the spectacular circus of the crowds. There is a moment of awe when you realize you are walking (sometimes climbing) The Great Wall of China. It's somewhat otherworldly, if it is possible to feel otherworldly. You know what I mean - one of those moments where you shake your head and ask yourself if you are really 
experiencing this!And then I started to people watch. Soldiers requested photos with us, most likely because of our tall traveling companion Andrew. Shirtless teenage boys climbed the wall and posed for pictures that reminded me of a 90s boy band. Women in heels attempted to scale the steeper parts of the wall, and tee-shirt vendors followed tourists, looking for someone to haggle with. Photographers with authentic "Chinese" costumes lured sweating visitors in to take Disney-style
"historical" photos. Small children held bottles of Coca-Cola, and a "One World One Dream" billboard dominated the view in one direction. A luge ride sped down to the parking area, but I couldn't be swayed. I wanted to walk back and take in one more time the sights and sounds of this too-touristy, too-crowded, too-well-maintained Badaling that everyone told me to avoid.4. Breakfasting with Peter in Taoyuan City, Taiwan
Breakfasting at a local little hole in the wall restaurant, sure, but who would have ever
thought that making this list would be breakfast at a 7-11 in Taoyuan?Facing his impending high school graduation, Peter was clearly reminiscing about the good old days (much like I do each time I visit Cambridge, Amenia, Middletown, and Attleboro) and Matt and I were quite content to follow the breakfast tour! We started with a local place, where our host Peter tells us he used to stop for breakfast on his
way to elementary school. The restaurant is literally a stone's throw from his home and for just a couple dollars, we sampled all of his favorite dishes... egg pancakes, steamed buns, breakfast burgers, sweet sandwiches. A young girl flipped her gaze back and forth between us and the television; commuters on scooters outside parked quickly to grab a bite. It was clearly the neighborhood spot.Around the corner from his house is one of the many 7-11s in town; to Peter, it is a beloved institution. When he wasn't breakfasting at our first stop, he breakfasted here. So we did, too. Here's the pre-elementary school menu he recreated for us: more steamed buns (white and brown), a hot dog, iced Starbucks lattes, sticky rice "sandwiches" filled with chicken, stuffed buns, sweet breads, and more of those warm breakfast burgerlike
sandwiches. I think Matt and Peter had icees with their breakfast. The best part about 7-11 was the souvenir potential... I found Chien-Ming Wang and Daisuke Matsuzaka cell phone charms for my two favorite baseball fans. Our breakfast was so cheap, but these official MLB charms were $10 each! You can eat breakfast for 10 days (less the iced latte) for the price of a MLB charm.5. My Taiwanese Peach
This is simple. Eat the fruit in Taiwan. Have a peach. Wash it, relax, and enjoy it. Durian fruit, sure you can skip that, but eat the peach. Have dragon fruit and lychee while you are at it. I loved that peach.
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