>go to China first time
>land in Shanghai at midnight after 18 hours of flying
>tired as hell, give up on trying to figure out metro
>guy with Didi/Uber lanyard at exit tells me taxis are over here
>get scammed by fake taxi at airport, $40 gone
>learn how to use Gaode maps

>after 2 days, fly to Beijing
>first day, visit giant imperial palace starting at 9am
>theres multiple encompassed security control zones separating different areas
>leave my bag to go check out Mao's mausoleum
>go to Tiananmen Square, entered the imperial palace nex- SHIT LEFT MY BAG
>already past the one way gate, but info desk says I can easily exit and pick up my bag
>decide to just commit to imperial palace tour and then leave early to get my bag
>walk around the Forbidden City with hot milk tea in hand, feeling like a king
>after 10 miles and 4 hours of the greatest museum of my life, im tired as hell, 2 hours left until closing
>try getting back to bag check area, the info desk lied, ended up walking another 2 miles around the entire palace only to be left outside the security zone
>feet hurt like hell, 1 hour left, in a rush decide to take a nearby parked taxi to go back to security zone entrance
>taxi was a $30 scam, gives me an unwanted tour for 10 minutes
>drops me off at the EXACT OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE SECURITY ZONE ENTRANCE
>spend the next 40 minutes running around Tiananmen Square, begging guards for directions, half of them laugh and just point
>beg security zone guards to let me in, they do
>get to my bag 2 minutes before closing, 14 miles of pain endured
>feet blistered for the rest of the month trip in China
>finish the day by eating a giant plate of kung pao chicken and roast duck

Genuinely one of the best days of my life