going to Beijing

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Well - we started our journey into Beijing yesterday morning at 4am from my mom's house and off the airport at Pearson we were. All was smooth, and our friend Amanda Lorbergs came to see us off to the long haul across the globe. After getting yelled at by the US customs officer for talking on my cell phone when in the "security" area, we were on our way to Chicago. We took United Airlines (which was quite dirty compared to our Canadian airlines) into Chicago and unloaded at the huge UA hub. We hung around until 1230 (local time), got some lunch and stretched our legs. We then boarded the plane to Beijing...the adventure begins.

Unfortunately, UA was not very accomodating to two >6'3 people on their economy class (and just to note, they had 2 kids and 1 short mom in the exit seat that we wanted....) so it was moderately uncomfortable on our flight to beijing. The flight scenery was great though. We did a polar flight (over the North Pole) and had great luck on a clear day to see some phenomenal ice flows. It was also very clear over Siberia and Mongolia to see the great landscapes that they both offer. Hanmu slept most of the way, but I was fairly restless and only got about 2 hours of sleep on a 13hr flight. It was wierd becuase it was daylight from the moment we left Toronto to the moment we got to Beijing!

So we got into Beijing airport (suprisingly quite small), not knowing what time or day it was, and proceeded to get our bags etc. For a communist country, it was suprisingly unregulated to get into the country in regards to customs/immigration. They don't even check your information other than one policeman who looks at your visa and then stamps it. After getting hasseled a few times by some people to take their cab/shuttle service (for ~200RMB), we ended up finding a city bus with the help of a cop (who are extremely helpful all over Beijing) and it only cost us 15RMB each. A girl on the bus also told us where to get off to get to our hostel (see below). The airport is located about 30min from the tourist centers of Beijing (ie forbidden city etc) and the drive was less than exciting. Fairly typical city with typical rush hour traffic. The only differences I could see was the vast building/construction being done for the 2008 Olympics. As we got close to Forbidden City, I was smooshed up against the window trying to get a good look. I think we'll do that tomorrow or the next day.

Trying to get to the hostel was an adventure in itself though. We got off the bus and hopped on the city subway (2RMB each). To make a long story short, we ended up wandering around random neighbourhoods looking for our hostel and getting a lot of funny looks from people in the alleys. We found a hostel, but it was just the wrong one! I was starting to get really hot, tired and frustrated with the situation so we decided to cab it to the correct place. Turns out, not many cabbies in Beijing know where the hell they're going! We had to stop 3 people until they actually knew where we were going. I think we drove about 5km, and it took about 30min with all the traffic! I took a quick nap in the car while hanmu talked with the driver and worked on his mandarin. We finally arrived at the correct hostel and checked into a fairly comfortable room (lets just say its no Hilton...you get what you pay for!). BUT, it does have hot water and AC so that's a bonus as it is ~35C and very humid (and with all the pollution, it makes breathing "heavy"). Hanmu and I went on a quick walk to get something to eat and saw some really cool chinese cultural activities that go on at night in the neighbourhood we're in. We got some lamb k-bobs (I'm waiting for diarrhea to ensue...) and Hanmu got some Chinese beer (one of the only mandarin phrases I know!!!! haha). I also ordered my own lamb k-bobs in mandarin - even though I had to show him my fingers for the # I wanted (counting is fairly difficult).

Anyway, we'll see how the diarrhea goes tonight, but I'm looking forward to getting some sleep tonight!

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Comments

[Joelle]

peepee kaka
So glad to hear/read that everything going good so far. Dont die. Miss you guys. -J

[Bri]

Wah-wah-wee-wah!
You're gone and I'm home! You will have the time of your lives - I promise. I did a little high five for you at Pearson today even though it was a day too late. Keep the posts coming, I will love hearing about your adventures. As a point of advice, talk to other travellers in your hostels, they are an invaluable source of information (cheep eats, deals on other hostels, attractions, where to go next etc...). Everyone that I met on my trip that has backpacked Asia said it was phenominal, one guy (who had taken a 2 year trip around the world even said Asia was his favorite!). I miss you guys! keep the posts coming!