Blogs from Beijing, China, Asia - page 461

WARNING - We had a pain in the arse day yesterday, we've both got the cold, and its raining. Our bleak spirit is reflected in lots of moaning & cynicism throughout this blog entry. However, there are some cheery bits too - so don't let us put you off too much. Go on, read on, you know you want to. Go on go on go on go on go on go on................GO ON! Yesterday in Shanghai - our last day- we got soaked three times in what can only be described as Constant Smur - you know, that rain that just doesn't go away - the 'worst kind' that keeps on coming - not in big downpours, just fine droplets that carry really well on any slight breeze, so that even if you are using a ... read more

May 17 The flight from Detroit was so nice In fact, we all did it twice The wheels didn't retract so we had to go back Dumping fuel in the air like black ice. May 18 So in Tokyo we all had to stay On our very first tour day delay We slept and we ate And went back to the gate As day turned to night turned to day. May 19 We're here in Beijing at long last Some touring we had to do fast The Square we did see And the Royal City Then had duck with the OAT cast. May 20 Today it was off to the wall Too awesome to really tell all Steps we did climb The view was devine It made one feel so very small to be continued... We ... read more

China is an exciting country, I didn't give it much of a chance with a short visit of two weeks, but I plan to come back and do it properly one day. In China my luck still followed me hand in hand. Apart from my lower back injury, which left me crippled for a few days, I made great friends here and had quite a nice time. I seem to get lucky at airports, I met a Hong Kong guy on the plane travelling to Beijing and he turned out to be a real nice person.... He had someone waiting for him at the airport and, yet again, I scored a lift into town. They dropped me off in front of my hostel and he waited until I'd got my room sorted out to know that ... read more

From my last entry I reckon it was pretty clear I was quite bushed from my day in Beijing and on the whole it was unlikely there would be many things I'd be willing to get out of bed for the next day. Unfortunately however The Great Wall of China was on that list, we were setting off at 6am, so had to make the effort to drag myself down to the bus that morning. There was talk of a picnic so had stopped off the night before at a local conveniance store to buy provisions but found it not that conveniant at all. In my tiredness, (I'm never at my best when lacking sleep), I became quite frustrated that the shop sold bread but not butter, (scotching my hopes for Marmite sandwiches... was carrying a ... read more

Off the train, warm the legs up and off we go to find the underground. We thought we would receive a lot of stares from people in China, but here in Beijing they seem a cosmopolitan bunch and don't seem that interested in us. Accomodation, Red Lantern House, a traditional style courtyard in the middle of a Beijing Hutong (traditional old streets) on the endangered list as they are being progressively bulldozed and replaced by modern Beijing (ie. Sky Scrapers) and tsing tao a princely 27p! I already don't want to leave. Beijing itself is a city that needs several days to do it justice, there is so much to see and do here (Tiannamen, Forbidden City, Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace) boy this place is huge. We grab some bikes and hit the ... read more