...without the internet.

     There were parts of this trip that were certainly limited due to my lack of internet. I did not have the opportunity to research sites once I got here. My travel plans were all contingent on how close they were to my hostel. I could get to almost nothing that wasn't connected to some kind of major transportation hub.
     On a trip where I had pleasantly discovered that my text service came with me for free in every other country, this disconnection from every kind of digital contact was new.
      It didn't really sink in until after the first few days. After already seeing what I had come to see within the first 48 hours of being here, I was becoming curious about what else was out there. But I could not just type in a quick search to find out.
      Luckily, the hostel had maps of the Beijing subway that cited major attractions on it. This became one of my primary guides. I simply took a new attraction each day and explored a small part of the city with each one. My nights would be filled by talking to other travelers in the hostel bar. We would talk about what we had seen and we're going to see. If a few of us had the same ideas, we would go together.
      Who knew? The simple art of conversation still exists and works as a valid exchange of information. Along the way I met someone on my Great Wall tour that shared a kung-fu show with me. I met someone the next night and we decided to share the Forbidden City together. Another new friend was determined to see pandas in China, so we spent a day at the Beijing Zoo. There were four of us who got together to do nothing more than play card games in the bar for four nights in a row. When one of them left, someone else who had just arrived joined the game. I left having exchanged information with five or six different people in as many countries.

     Unexpectedly, it seemed easier to meet people in an environment that seemed so foreign. It turns out, the need for human interaction is pretty important to us and only when it is limited can it be appreciated in its fullness. It was without the distraction of constant digital noise,
     I found connection.