I can hardly wait to make my return to fascinating Tianjin

After nearly five months of being stuck in Beijing, I couldn't take it anymore.

I had to get away, if only for a short time. My birthday was coming up, and I really wanted to go someplace new to celebrate. Earlier in the year, I had dreams of visiting a new country at this time, like Kazakhstan or Bangladesh. But the virus had essentially crippled international leisure travel.

My first thought domestically was Shanghai, but I wasn't sure how the company would respond to me going so far away yet. Also, though the pandemic is largely under control here, there are still various restrictions in place, and they vary from city to city. I wasn't fully educated on Shanghai's rules, and I didn't want to take the chance of traveling so far and having to turn around and come right back to Beijing if there was a problem.

One of my colleagues talked to me about the possibility of visiting Tianjin, a large city nearby. I was intrigued by details of his visit there, and after doing a bit of research－and after being assured by the company that I wouldn't be quarantined when I returned－I planned my trip, booking a seat on a high-speed train from Beijing South to Tianjin South, as well as a hotel room at the Tianjin Golden Crown Hotel.

My trip was fantastic throughout. I got a business class seat on the train, which I really liked, though the comfort was very temporary; the ride was only 30 minutes going and 40 minutes coming back. The hotel was great; my room was spacious and included a separate bath tub and shower. They also gave me a complimentary green tea birthday cake, which I was pleasantly surprised to receive.

As for the city itself, I was definitely impressed by its beauty. I didn't do everything I wanted to do, opting to make this a more relaxing trip in which I didn't run around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to get from site to site. But I did enjoy strolling along the river at night, visiting the city's "little Italy" section and shopping at the ancient cultural center. I never felt like I was in a rush, nor was I ever overwhelmed by crowds.

One of the other highlights of this trip was my visit to Er Bao Rui, a wax museum dedicated to famous Chinese leaders and celebrities, as well as others from the United States and elsewhere. In fact, I was surprised to see wax figures of two of my former presidents, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, on display. The figures were mostly OK, though some of them left me scratching my head. There was one of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator that lacked his renowned muscular stature, for example.

As for the food, it was also generally OK; not bad, but nothing to write home about. Ironically, the best meal I had was at the Chinese restaurant in the hotel, but it was way too much food for me to finish alone!

My trip to Tianjin was an easygoing venture that I wished hadn't ended so soon, and I would love to go back again to do the other things that I failed to do the last time, like taking a cruise on the Haihe River or visiting the Five Boulevards area. I'm already looking forward to it.