Have Bag, Will Travel: China

During high school, I was awarded a scholarship to travel through China for a month. I didn't know a soul in my group - a group of 12 teenagers and one guide, but it was a wonderful learning experience of embracing people I had never met and a culture vastly different than my own.

I'll never forget thsoe five weeks in China. It was the first time I felt independent, totally free, and I let myself not care. I accepted every little thing that happened to me - good or bad. I told myself from the beginning this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, one I shouldn't squander by being afraid.

From eating scorpion and larva on the Black Market streets, to piling into one tiny train compartment for 27 hours, to living in a wooden house in rural China with a host family that didn't know a single word of English, I embraced the lack of control and direction.

China is an intriguing country because it seems like you'll never understand it. I loved learning all about their customs - how to cook dumplings, what to eat, when to eat it and how much of it. Their mannerisms are very different than mine but that shouldn't sway anyone from going.

I spent a month in the country and travel to a fair amount of cities. I highly recommend Yangshuo in the Guangxi region. It's a backpackers town full of endless markets and people from all aroud the world. If you travel a little outside of the city, there are caves you can hike through and also calmish rivers to raft upon.

Shanghai is, of course, a must see, but it wasn't my favorite. In fact, it scared me a little. The city stretches out for days. I pride myself on having an excellent sense of direction.You could probably drop me in any city and I would still find my way. But not in Shanghai. For three days, I was lost of which way was up and which way was down. That's a bit of an exaggeration but you get the deal. Still it's one of the world's major cities and when the lights from the Bund hit the Huangpu River, that's pretty magical.

P.S. You have to go to Beijing and see the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, etc. etc. Those are non-negotiables.