This week I caught up with 2nd year physics student Matthew Greenberg to find out about what he got up to over the summer. Matthew is originally from Shanghai, but makes the most of our long student holidays by visiting new places, usually with his family. This summer he accompanied his mother on a business trip to Beijing and spent four days discovering China’s capital.
What were your initial thoughts about Beijing?
It was really hot and crowded, with this dense grey smog everywhere. Though that wasn’t really anything new as I’m used to Shanghai. I also received a lot of attention everywhere I went – over the summer months the farmers from the countryside travel into the city, and many of them aren’t used to seeing Westerners. Everywhere I went people would take my photograph, try to sell me things, ask me questions. It was quite flattering until you realised it’s just because they think you look funny!
Let’s focus on the most important thing: what was the food like?
I never like to eat at fancy restaurants when I’m abroad; in Beijing I often went to street vendors and you really never knew what you were really eating. I was in this one café – a real spit-on-the-floor kind of place – and you could see the chef making noodles by hand, which I’d never seen before. They were absolutely delicious.
What was the best thing about the city?
The older parts are really, really beautiful. For example Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I find the culture and history of the area really interesting. The Great Wall was amazing too. I had no idea how big it is, it was really quite awe-inspiring. Plus it was great to get out of the city and the smog and see some blue skies!
So what was the worst thing?
There were cameras everywhere. Every post or pillar in the city had about four or five cameras on it. It really felt as though big brother was watching. It made it difficult to relax, I felt quite on edge even as a tourist.
Would you go back?
I would go back, but probably just to see the Great Wall again, and walk further along it.
Where’s your favourite place to visit?
That would have to be Cambodia, which I visited with my family last winter break. The tourist industry is really just beginning to grow there, but I had a really warm welcome. The temples, in particular Angkor Wat, are spectacular. And again, I find the history of Pol Pot and the Killing Fields interesting – such a beautiful place with an awful history.
Where next?
This winter break my family and I are hoping to spend some time at a resort in Bali and then travel around Vietnam. At the moment it’s still in the planning process but the idea is to relax and do the typical tourist thing on a beach in Bali, and then I’d like to see some of the history of Vietnam, in particular how the US war affected the country.