Advertisement
Published: September 17th 2006
We arrived in China today. Our ferry ride was rather uneventful. The room was nice, we even had a tv but we didn't turn it on. We were 2 of 8 "travellers" on the boat, the other 6 were all from Britain. The food was outrageously priced, definitely the most we've spent on eating so far, but there was nothing we could do about it. A lot of other people brought noodle soups because hot water was supplied. We should have thought of that!! I am still feeling like I'm rocking and on the silly ferry. Hopefully the rocking stops soon, it's throwing me off balance! I didn't have to take any Gravol on the boat, I only felt sick a bit at the beginning.
When we docked in Tianjin we were the first off the boat for some reason. We and another Asian couple got our Visa's onboard, and we were told to bring our baggage and head to the front of the line. Which caused everyone behind me to start shoving and pushing. We certainly felt like we had VIP treatment and no idea why. Once we got off the boat we were herded onto a bus, which everyone else squished onto as well (again, why were we let off first?!), the bus drove maybe 100m and then we all got off (why did we get on a bus?!). We had to go to a special window while everyone else got to get in line to go through customs. Finally after the second bus load of people got in line we received our Visa's and stood in line as well. A quick check through and we were in China. When we exited the ferry terminal we were bombarded with people saying things in bad English. I stood dumbfounded, wondering what to do, when Dev motioned to me that they meant Taxi. Oh Taxi. No we don't want a taxi, we want a train, for Beijing. Well, the train station is 60km away so we must go by taxi. Oh. We had the option on the boat to arrange transport on a minibus but we figured we could do it on our own. We were so caught up in the chaos that somehow our backpacks ended up in the trunk of a taxi and off we went. Hm. The taxi driver assured us he had a meter in his cab before we got in, and he quoted us a price of approx 130 Yuan (the book in our room on the ferry said the price would be approx 100 Yuan and to watch out because they try to rip off foreigners). I asked the driver if we could agree on 100 Yuan and he kept saying no no I have a meter, the price will be 130 Yuan approx. Fine, whatever. Off we go. Now, on the way to the station the driver spoke fine English, pointing out sites and telling us about Beijing. When we arrive at the station the meter says 121 Yuan...and the driver asks for 150!! What?! We point at the meter and say nono, you told us you went by the meter, and the meter says 121. Side note: There is a sticker on the window of the taxi which quotes the per km rate. This sticker said 1.70 Yuan, and the driver pointed it out to us. Dev was watching the meter, and it was rising by 2.25 Yuan...Now the driver was trying to tell us the rate went up in September and started pointing to random Chinese characters telling us these were the rules and his English was bad (he was speaking bad English now too...hmm). He also made sure we knew that our train was leaving in 15 minutes. So we had no time to argue. We tried a little bit, but he started writing down math equations trying to explain why he was right, so we paid the man and ran off. After shoving our way to the front of the line to buy tickets on the Express to Beijing the ticket man pounded the counter and waved frantically in the direction of the platform, so off we run to catch our train.
We wait in a crowded line to get onto a car, and notice there are people practically spilling out of the car. We push on, and people are sitting in the aisles, in front of the bathroom, near the sink, everywhere. This is our welcome to China?! So we opt to stand...for the hour and a half ride. People were staring at us, and pushing past us, and unfortunately we were standing near the bathroom so the smell would waft out whenever someone would open the door (and there was a constant stream of people using the bathroom...or should I say squat toilet which I'm sure empties onto the tracks...). They also don't seem to think turning off the tap is important after they wash their hands. They would leave the water running and eventually the sink was overflowing and splashing water everywhere. At this point we were a little more than intimidated. What on earth have we gotten ourselves into?!
An hour and a half slowly passes (I think I looked at my watch every 2 minutes, we tried playing rock paper scissors but that was only good for about a minute and a half) and we FINALLY reach Beijing. We shove off with the rest of the million people, walk like cattle being herded to slaughter through the station and voila. We are out into the world. Along with 3 million others. I have never seen so many people at a train station in my life!! We spot an ATM and hurry over to withdraw money. Thankfully after two failed attempts and a bit of panic we figure out the machine and it spits out cash. We also find the subway with relative ease, shove to the front of the line (everything here is about shoving) to buy tickets and find the correct platform. We are feeling a little better. The train had English annoucements for each stop, but we could read the train map fine. Our hostel is approx 150m from the train stop, and we had a bit of trouble finding it but after wandering up and down the street we managed to locate it. Ahhh. Our room is clean, has key cards (so we feel somewhat secure), our own bathroom and air con. Immediately we head down to the McDonalds for a taste of home.
Now we are relaxed and feeling ok. Everything is very cheap here compared to Japan, so that is exciting. The subway for both of us was 75 cents and the Express train to Beijing was $3 each. McDonalds is SO cheap, both of our meals plus an ice cream cone for dessert came to $4.50!! We can deal with that!
Tomorrow we plan to see Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven. Tuesday we will venture to the Great Wall. There are two sections of the wall that we want to see. One section is almost completely restored and very commercial with hawkers selling everything and tourists everywhere. The other section is a 10km hike from one part to another, with very little restored and less tourists. This is a more real taste of the Great Wall, but we read that the hike can be treacherous.
Unfortunately we do not have wifi here at the hostel, we are having to use a public terminal so that means we probably won't post any pics for awhile. Our next stop is Datong, hopefully we will have wifi there.
The smog here is the see-it-to-believe it type. Visibility is low, and all you can see are grey outlines of buildings looming out of it when you get close enough. I think I will keep wearing my glasses, as I'm scared of what my eyes will do if I try to wear my contacts in this smog!
We have definitely started our trip now, Japan was a basic introduction I think. We weren't prepared for the sheer number of people EVERYWHERE. It's quite crowded, and people don't have manners like they do in Japan. They just shove and push and go in front of you in line. One man did offer his seat to me on the subway though.
We miss you all loads, we were definitely feeling the first pangs of homesickness earlier, but the McDonalds seemed to clear that and now we are quite excited for the adventures that lay ahead. Tomorrow we plan to lunch on authentic Peking Duck, a specialty here in Beijing.
Take care, until next time!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Advertisement
Tot: 0.118s; Tpl: 0.015s; cc: 12; qc: 60; dbt: 0.0779s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
rick
non-member comment
Hi Guys
Have sent you two emails in last two days. If your plans are to go to Thailand, think twice as they seem to be having some problems. How long do you plan on being in China?