Beijing

So this is it, I guess we finally arrived! It still has not fully sunk in that we will be away for six months, travelling to some of the most amazing places on earth and doing once in the life time activities!

We landed in Beijing following a delayed and rather restless flight and we were thrown into the deep end from the first minute as we intended to change the dates of our flights however were hit smack in the face by the language barrier! We spoke to what seems like hundreds of people to try and get our intentions across but noone could understand, but for one woman on a ticket desk who only put us on the phone to someone who didnt understand!

We had one contact in Beijing (James Ming) who arranged for us to be picked up from the airport and transported to the hostel. Me and Muc were thrown inside a little hippy wagon of a car and driven in 2nd gear all the way to Beijing centre! The road situation here is crazy!! They have no understanding of the use of side mirrors so deem it perfectly normal to cut out whenever they feel! A chorus of honks and shouts greets every manouver - myself and Muc were petrified! Especially Muc in the back who had no seatbelt!

The hostel is opposite Beijing Central Station and is both cheap, clean and warm (all the essentials) so we are quite content here! There is a constant buzz here. We truely couldnt be further from the Wilmslow bubble as everything is totally differnt. The food, the people, the smells, the sounds and the general atmosphere. Beijing itself is a huge urban sprawl. I didnt know what to expect but it truely is HUGE and every single spare piece of land has a building on it or is being built on. Not much of the architecture however is inspiring. Everything seems to be based on western skyscrapers however built the chinese way - the cheapest material put together in the cheapest way. Inevitably this results in huge blocks of concrete.

James Ming had arranged a mini-bus (aka the scooby doo van) to take us around all the sights accompanied by some of his colleagues. Simon is a true legend and one of the most energetic people going! He loves to practice his english and although he claims he is no good he is fantastic!
In one day we went to the Forbidden City and Tiannament Square. The forbidden as the name describes city is a city within itself. You could spend hours searching through all the different courtyards finding ancient secrets and some of the architecture on the buildings is stunning. Following through the series of buildings leads you to the enterance guarded by the portrait of Chairman Mao - a face seen all over the city.

Opposite the Forbidden City lies Tiannamen Square which is the worlds largest public square and also one of the most highly policed areas in the world due to its high sensitive regarding Chinas political situation. Police and military guard every corner and are constanly watching for any sign of protest. Stood in the centre of Tiannamen square is quite eerie. Due to its size it is relatively quiet and hundreds of people stroll around lost in thought. Behai park was also extremely quiet in comparison to the general street comotion of the Beijing street. Buddhist temples formed by the Dali Lhama are surrounded by frozen lakes, part of which has been converted to an icerink with sledge racing which we have a crack! A high speed collision resulted in Muc and Caz flying off their sledges! Boys will be boys!

About two hours drive north lies one of the restored streches of the Great Wall. Approximately 12 miles in length and high up in the mountains there is a cable car to do the worst of the climb and then the rest is yours to explore. The size of the construction is unreal, especially considering the date it was built in and the surrounding terrain. We had a few snow ball fights and then decided to race up 100m of snow sprinkled stairs which took the worst out of us and considering the lack of oxygen made us all feint!! A truely awesome experience none the less! To save our legs on the way down we went on the taboggon which was suprisingly quick and then we met a camel. Random!!

Our culinary expertise has been tested even in our first few days. We were treated to a famous Peking duck resturant where we also tried Lotus bulb and chicken feet. Tasteless really! Whats all the fuss about?! Also a traditional hotpot with an assortment of meat dropped into a boiling pot of spiced water. Some of the time its best not to ask what you are eating. A pastry we had we now believe contained goat stomach. Dog is still on my menu however this request is being met with a few ethical debates from the Lees twins considering the apparent availability of Tibetan Terrior meat - aka Cassie (their dog!) All treats have been washed down by cold Tsingtao which was perhaps overdone when we visited the western bars for our first night out with Anna (a Danish collegue of James Qing's) who knew all the hidden gems of the Beijing nightscene! Stumbling into a taxi we had a midnight feast from the McDonalds (yes McDonalds - everywhere!) next to our hostel! About 90p for a full meal! Bargain! Even cheaper is the accomodation they offer! Homeless people and travellers catching trains sleep in the vacant seats and benches. At 4am the place was full!

The Chinese people have been all friendly and welcoming. Everyone is willing to try the Chinglish / English and they love the banter off any westerner! The markets are the best places, but prepare to be hassled! "Hey handsome" is the greeting to every white face when they attempt to flog everything under the sun to you! Some bargains are to be found though - if you walk away they sometimes get angry and may even restort to stabbing you with calculators (as i found out) or a mere thump of the arm (Muc - who was also squirted with water!) Purchases of coats, hats and gloves were essential considering at the moment it is -10 with a windchill of much less! Painfully numb - as I found on the first day when I arrived with no substantial clothing! Naiivity possibly!!

To accompany the bitter cold air we have been greeted with a blend of cloud and smog. Beijing is one of the top 10 polluted cities in the world (8 of them being Chinese) and this is hardly suprising given the vast amount of traffic, buildings and factories! I dont blame the thousands of people who walk the streets with face masks! That may be a good investment given our planned route through China however we shall see...
The next stop is Xian on an overnight train. In Beijing we truely have been spoilt by James Ming and his colleagues - they even put us into a 5* Swissotel for our final night where we walked around in robes like kings and enjoyed the pool, sauna and full english breakfast! Meals paid for and even a luxury hotel for our final night as a special treat! Although he shouldnt have the, the soft introduction has made the culture jump a little easier to absorb. The true adventure begins in Xian where we will well and truely be on our own...

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