Blog Post #5 is here for your amusement and interest. As mentioned in my first ever blog post, there’s a lot of aspects to health. It’s much more than nutrition and exercise. Nothing brings that more to the forefront than travel. Drinking water, food preparation, medical care, injuries, and disease exposure are all concerns the healthy traveller should think about. As a Registered Nurse, I would advise anyone travelling to a new country to have a travel clinic assessment. Ensure vaccines and immunizations are up to date and become educated on important health updates in the region you’re going to. Get a prescription for antibiotics and bring them with you. Know if you can drink the water and how to get medical help if needed. Travel Insurance is an absolute a must. With knowledge and preparation, you can then enjoy the many great aspects of travelling and seeing the world.

Although I posted not long ago, I decided to get another post up before my wife and I leave for China. We have almost three weeks to visit four cities and experience this massive country. There should be some great writing opportunities and ideas from spending time in the eastern part of China. Also, the general feedback was that the jokes from last week were even more lame than usual and I wanted to get another but better cheesy joke out there. Here’s a quick overview of our itinerary with some insight and advice on planning a trip of this size.

Hong Kong

We can’t wait for our first visit Hong Kong. We have 5 days to check out one of the great international cities in the world. I’m looking forward to running and working out at Victoria Park. I’ve researched the area and looked over the outdoor fitness equipment. It’s not far from our hotel and gives us the chance to see the park while maintaining our health regimen. Like New York City, Hong Kong is walk-able and all about the food. It’s definitely a place that suites us and we will enjoy.

Guangzhou

Going, going, Guang. Zhou never know where you’ll get the chance to travel to. When my best friend told me he was moving to China for three years I asked him, “Where in China?”

He said, “Guangzhou.”

I said, “Bless you. Where are you moving to?”

I don’t know a lot about this city but I look forward to my friend showing us around and learning more about mainland China. The plan is for my friend to orient us to Guangzhou (explain pun here) for a couple of days before we are then released on our own to seek our own adventures. It’s in this time, I plan to run and get my workouts in.

Shanghai

We then travel to Shanghai. Once we decided we were going to head north to The Great Wall of China, it seemed natural that we would stop in Shanghai. We weren’t tricked or forced into it. (define “shanghaied” here) Shanghai, a major financial and cultural hub, is one of the world’s most populated cities. We will arrive with a book and a hotel room but with no real agenda other than workouts, adventures, and exploration. Pollution and air quality are a concern here and may require us to wear a mask when going out.

Beijing

We will leave Shanghai by train and head north to China’s capital. After all Beijing did to save Dr. Mark Watney from Mars and the contributions made to Matt Damon’s career in The Great Wall, I knew that I had to travel to Beijing and see The Great Wall of China. (explain that Dr. Watney is the character played by Matt Damon in The Martian that benefits from Chinese rocket technology and that The Great Wall is an upcoming movie starring Matt Damon about The Great Wall of China) Like Shanghai, Beijing has a huge population and variable air quality that could limit any outdoor running or workouts. Fortunately, we will leave the city proper and visit The Great Wall of China. I’m expecting to be inspired to write and have more photos than my phone can hold. There should be a goldmine of blogging material coming your way.

As usual I have an original joke. I’ve been told to stop calling them ‘jokes’ but instead call them ‘brain-irritants’. This travel joke is for nurses or requires a knowledge of nursing (e.g. being a patient in the hospital). If you don’t get it, share it with a nurse friend or family member. If they don’t get it, don’t worry about it. It’s stupid. Enjoy.

I was at the airport waiting in the line up to check in. The woman in front of me said to her partner with a slur, “I’m so tired. It was a tough shift last night.” I thought maybe she could be a nurse but I wasn’t sure. Then she got to the airline counter:

 She asked the airline representative, “How’s your plane?”

 The representative replied, “umm….good.”

“No no no! How’s your plane on a scale of 0 to 10?… with zero being there’s no plane and ten being the worst plane you’ve ever had.”

 She was a nurse.