Arrived in Beijing

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Journey to Beijing

We arrived in Beijing after some adventures in the airports. I don't recommend having only an hour to transfer from one flight to the next. After getting through the Australian security checks, we then found the first tranfer desk empty and went running a few hundred metres through airport halls and shops to find the last one empty too! Luckily we found out our departure gate, and after getting there all hot and sweaty (summer in sydney and we were dressed ready for cold Beijing) we found they were waiting for us, and we could finally get our boarding pass and get on the plane.

But ... the drama was not over! Our flight on Air China wasn't bad, although the seats were a little cramped. We arrived after an eleven hour flight at a chilly 6am in Beijing darkness. Checking through the arrival area was no problem, but we had a long wait at the baggage claim ... Lea's bag finally appeared near the end ... we kept waiting for my backpack ... nothing showed up. So we then spent about another hour sorting out details of how to get my backpack returned. Oh well, at least we arrived safe!

So our first day in Beijing didn't start well, but the rest of the day was good. We got the shuttle bus into town, got picked up by Lea's dad and went to our home in the apartment blocks in Haidian district. After we settled in, we all went to have a nice big dinner at a restaurant (complete with karaoke from the spring festival party next door) and then relaxed afterwards at home again.

That's our first day. I don't know if will be doing many big long posts, or keeping them short from now on ... just have to see what happens. Hope everyone at home in NZ is well!

Lea's comment:
I suspected some passengers were sneakily smoking on the plane because we often smelled cigarette. The waitress looking after our table in the restaurant has to stay in Beijing working during the holiday. We are so lucky that we can just travel for a few months. I found out more about the snow storm from Dad. It's very unusual that provinces in south China got snow. Is this a result of climate change? When I woke up in the mornnig, my nose felt so dry. When I walked in the street, my ears hurt because of the cold wind. I finally gave in and put on two pants before I go out.

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Photos

Driving into Beijing
Driving in airport shuttle into Beijing.

Comments

[Jenny]

First day
Hi, great to hear from you both and see the photos. I haven't been to China, so it was a great way for me to vicariously come on the journey too. Poor you, Darryl, losing your back pack. Does this mean you're wearing Lea's clothes?