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Published: March 23rd 2008
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DAY 1 - London-Beijing There's not much to say for the journey apart from that it was tough to leave everything behind and felt like a big step but once I was actually moving on the plane I was fine. I got a window seat and managed a couple hours sleep after watching St Trinian's (which was awful).
DAY 2 - Beijing I arrived in Beijing on Wednesday morning, endured a treacherous taxi journey and got to my hotel room to find I'd been given a double room with a king sized bed all to myself - I could get used to this! After having a much-needed shower I walked straight out the door and explored for the day.
I went to Tian'an Men Square, saw Mao's body, went all around the Forbidden City and got taken to tea by some young ladies. It was a surreal experience to actually be there seeing all of this is person. My first impressions were of the smog and also how much construction work is going on ahead of the Olympic Games. Crossing the street here is an experience in itself. I met the Liverpool Youth Orchestra who were on a
tour and was relieved to see some English people because it's very strange to walk around by yourself and not say a word for hours on end. I got many strange looks (more than usual!) especially in the non-touristy areas. One old man said "hallo" to me as I walked past and seemed so proud of himself!
I got picked up by a couple of girls who spoke good English and they took me to a tea house to try out about 10 different types of tea. It was a wonderful experience. However, it was quite likely a con since the price at the end was 500 yuan! That's 35 quid. Sometimes the only way to find out about these things is the hard way of getting caught out.
In the evening I just had a very early night since I was so very tired.
DAY 3 - Beijing My 2nd day in the Chinese capital was fairly similar to the first. I walked to the Temple of Heaven which I loved. It's surrounded by a massive park and many Chinese people go there to relax and have fun. So you see people practising Tai Chi and
playing games. The trouble with this is that you get many people trying to take advantage of tourist's fascination is these things and trying to sell you various toys and games. The temple itself was rather nice though.
I started to walk back to the city centre and, after getting a little lost, found a gigantic shopping centre where I met another young Chinese lady who took me to a tea house! At some point during this it clicked how stupid I was being falling for this again! It wasn't even as nice this time but we did have a nice chat.
I went back to the hotel at about 6 and actually fell asleep as soon as I put my head on the pillow to rest. I slept until 8am the next morning!
DAY 4 - Beijing For this day I basically chilled out and just walked slowly around a couple different areas of the city before I met with my group in the evening.
The group I'm with is relatively small and comprises of a couple, two pairs of girls together and one other girl. They're all a few years older than me (next
youngest is 23) but we seemed to get on great regardless. Our guide, Shirley, is endlessly enthusiastic which is great with this kind of thing. We went out for a delicious meal where I learnt how to use chopsticks properly. It was great to meet everyone at last.
DAY 5 - Beijing Such a busy day - We left the hotel at 9 and went to Tian'an Men Square and the Forbidden City - both for the 2nd time for me. It was good to have a guide this time though. We certainly learnt a lot about concubines - 3000 for one emperor! It was around 4 degrees so I had to wrap up nice and snug.
We then had a tour of hutongs (old alleyways) by rickshaw which was great fun and as part of that we enjoyed a very tasty meal in a family home. I then stayed to do a bit of shopping with some of the girls (although I didn't actually buy anything) before heading back in a taxi.
In the evening we went out for a hot pot meal. This is no Lancashire Hot Pot though! You literally have a hot pot
of boiling water in front of you heated by hot coals into which you put thin slices of meat, noodles and vegatables to cook in a very short amount of time before taking them straight onto your plate and eating it. It's a brilliant way of doing food.
DAY 6 - Beijing Today was a bit moe relaxed. The weather was clear for once and got to a point where I was quite happy in just a t-shirt. The rain from before had cleared the pollution so I could finally see blue skies overhead. Sam, Tess, Sarah and I decided to go to the Summer Palace via the underground (which is far better than London's) and then taxi. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Still swarming with tour groups but nothing could take away from the magnitude of the complex. This is where the emperors would come to relax in the summer. We could have spent days just wandering around. As it was we had an afternoon there before heading back to the hotle where I'm typing this right now.
Sorry that I've written so much! I'll be heading to the Great Wall tomorrow before going to
Xi'an - home of the Terracotta Warriors - on tuesday night on a sleep train. I can't seem to upload photos here but I have got some stunning ones already which I'll put up for your viewing pleasure as soon as I can. I'll write again soon. Take care =]
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hannah e-w
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Maybe you mean night train not sleep train? and you actually saw Mao's body...surely it's decomposed by now? lol. It's great to hear in more detail from you, how long are you going to feel bothered in writing what you do each day? Take care hon.