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It is 11:40 AM on Friday and I am sitting at my dining room table in Oakland looking out over a sunny, cool Bay Area. It is the second Friday morning I’ve had this week—crossing the international date line is weird that way.

The trip home was uneventful and easy. Six of us met in the hotel lobby at 8 AM. We shared a mini-van to the airport and were there by 9:15. Although our flight wasn’t until noon, the extra time was nice because it was a little unclear where we were going once we arrived at Beijing Airport. We didn’t have Dragon collecting our passports, herding us through security, expediting our ticket lines, and handing us our boarding passes.

Once on the plane, it was an easy (albeit long)11-hour journey home. We landed at SFO about 20 minutes early. Clearing customs was easy, luggage arrived promptly, Chris was there to greet me when I came through the international arrivals door, and I was home by 9:45 AM.

And so the trip is over. I can brush my teeth with tap water again. I can take a shower with my mouth open. I can see the sky. I can have a bagel for breakfast. I can have fettucini with pesto for dinner, and eat Cherry Garcia ice cream afterwards. I can cross the street without risking my life.

On the flight home, I reflected a lot on China (Beijing in particular), and the experience of traveling with other planners for 18 days. All in all, it was a terrific trip—very thought-provoking, exciting (even thrilling at times), and interesting. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I left Beijing feeling like the city is an enigma, though. I was looking at a map this morning and it hit me that Beijing is laid out exactly like Houston, with ring roads overlaid on an enormous grid of big arterial streets. Actually parts of the city feel like Houston too…only about 50 times more dense. The same huge glass office towers and wide avenues, designed for cars and not people, and vast contrasts in scale from one block to the next. I kind of expected that experience in Shanghai—the city is very “in your face” that way. The whole vibe in Shanghai is about being aggressive and making money.

I guess I was expecting Beijing to be more demure or classic, given the city’s dynastic past and Communist legacy. But it seemed every bit as capitalistic and development-obsessed as Shanghai. All of these cities are changing so quickly—it will be interesting to visit in the future and see how they evolve.

Here are some closing random thoughts about the trip

(1) Although we probably tried to do too much in 18 days, there’s not too much I would have skipped if I had to do it over again (short of extending the trip to 21 days to spend a few extra days in Shanghai and Beijing). Everyplace we went was different, and interesting in its own way.

(2) I would like to have spent more time meeting with local government planners and university professors, although that would only have been productive if the language barrier was bridged. So much is lost when you have to work through translators. I found myself wanting to sit down with the planning department in each city we visited to hear what was really going on. I also found myself wanting to make presentations to them about how we do planning in the US (in addition to hearing about how it’s done in China). That would be an interesting cultural exchange, if we could get past the translation issue.

(3) One of the most interesting parts of the trip was grasping the differences between the Western and Chinese thought process. I don’t really know how to articulate this, but there are some fundamental contrasts. This was most apparent with our various tour guides, but also with some of the planners. It was more than just towing the party line; there was a very linear and dogmatic way of thinking that was different from what we’re used to.

(4) Staying in the two and three star Chinese hotels was a drag at times, but in retrospect I am glad we did it. It made the experience much more authentic. There were a few times where I wished we were at the Westin or the Hyatt with all the American businessmen and western tourists, but it was pretty cool staying in places where we were the only American guests and no one spoke English. Not sure I’d ever get used to those hard beds though.

(5) Amazing food. No disappointments and some true culinary adventures. The cheap prices, giant beers, and amazing flavors were a real highlight of the trip.

(6) The most disturbing part of the trip for me was the bad air quality. The undrinkable water was also bad, but you kind of expect that; the air was another story entirely. I have never experienced anything quite like that.

(7) It was wonderful traveling with planners. It was the first time I didn’t feel like a total geek taking photos of things like crosswalks, curb cuts, and subway platforms.

(8) The big challenge in China seems to be the lack of enforcement, and corruption in the government. We heard it everywhere we went. The rules are there, but no one enforces them. Not sure what it will take to change that—other than showing the central government that enforcement can lead to higher profits. Which leads me to my next observation...

(9) China is the most capitalistic country on the planet. Kinda funny.

(10) The most interesting part of the trip was seeing first hand what happens when 500 million people pick up and move from the country to the city in the span of a few decades. It is fascinating to see a country going from rural to urban in the span of a single generation (it took us 100 years). It makes you wonder what will happen during the next generation.

(11) Why don’t we have a planning museum in the United States like the ones in Beijing and Shanghai!???? I vote for Chicago as the location. This is long overdue.

(12) I would love to work in China. Not sure I would want to live there, though. Hong Kong would be fun for a few years and would be the easiest place to live.

(13) I made new friends and acquaintances who I hope to stay in touch with.

(14) I missed Chris and Sierra and I am glad to be home.

In the end, the trip raised more questions than it answered. I consider that a sign of success. It will take awhile to absorb the entire experience. For all of us, it was a thought-provoking journey that appealed to our sense of adventure, curiosity, and love for cities. I am already planning my next trip.