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Published: November 16th 2005
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tiananmen gate
keeping the forbidden city safe. Even though nobody lives there anymore! David
Well we finally found a moment to update our Blog.
Landing in Beijing airport after a sleepless night worrying I had everything, then a sleepless night on the plane, was a strange experience. The moment you get out of Arrivals you are introduced to China's favourite game, sell something to the westerner. We couldn't walk 5 yards without a 'helpful' taxi driver offering us a lift. We stayed strong though and made our way to the Bus stop, might as well start on a budget. A long bus ride into Beijing station and we started looking for somewhere to stay. We headed towards where our lonely planet said there was a hostel, being stopped every few hundred yards by rickshaw drivers offering to take us to a hostel (which presumably they got a cut off for each guest they introduced), and people who just wanted to practice their English. They obviously don't recognise european flags as I had a german army jacket on. There was also a lot of staring at the two giants strolling past. We would have to get used to that!
Eventually we realised that the hostel we were heading for didn't accept foreigners. After
a tense minute where we sat on our packs in the street and tried not to kill the next rickshaw driver who looked at us, we decided to just jump into a cab to the next hostel on our list. When we got there it made our day, really clean, cheap, with loads of facilities. Things were looking up. The place was the Beijing city central youth hostel and it was 160 RMB for a double if anybody is ever down that way. It's YHA so if you have a card you get a discount. It's also next to the train station, where our bus had dropped us off 2 hours earlier!
On the bus journey in I started to notice that Beijing is like two separate cities, the public parks where youngsters play table tennis and badminton, and the older generation do tai Chai, the traditional hutong streets with street food stalls and people going about their dailly business, contrasting the ugly high rise buildings and thousands of mobile phone shops of the new Beijing.
On our first day we went to meet my friends Gavin, Ross and Ali in one of the new bar districts. When
we got there we walked past a square full of chinese people dancing the waltz, right next to this new street of bars with neon signs everywhere. Everywhere I looked in Beijing I would see contrasts like this. I would have loved to have got stuck in to the waltzing, but I don't know how to dance!
Day two we went to Tiananmen square and paid our respects to Mao in his mauseleum. That is an amazing sight, the chinese still love the man. You queue for a while, then file into this huge building at one end of the square. Some of the older chinese look really emotional, and many of them young and old buy flowers to lay at the feet of his statue. You file through his Mauseleum and get about ten seconds to look at the sarcophagus, then you are deposited outside where you can buy a Chairman Mao watch or a packet of his favoutite cigarettes. The father of chinese communism would be turning in his grave, if he wasn't so tightly wrapped up. Take note, if you want a chairman mao watch or a little red book just stand still on tiananmen square
The Forbidden City
Bec sat enjoying the forbidden city for more than two seconds and you'll get offered one.
Then we walked through BeiHei park, which used to be the location of the Khan's palace and was absolutely beautiful, although most of the really old stuff is gone now bar a few artifacts in the round city. It's worth a visit at RMB5 for the park and RMB1 for the round city. Better than the summer palace which was a bit dull, but more of that later.
We also had a look round the Hutong, which are the traditional back street residences of Beijing. Like everything in the city some are really touristy, with hundreds of rickshaw drivers waiting in ambush, but walk a bit further afield and you will see where Beijing folk really live, and it is amazing. The hustle and bustle, pushing along half a ton of veg on a rickety old cart, bikes everywhere, old men sitting outside smoking like troopers, playing a board game I don't recognise, and emptying the contents of their lungs and throats onto the front street. Spitting I quickly found out is a national sport over here.
We went for a hike along the great wall, from
BeiHei Park
The sight of the Mongol palace. They had good taste. jinshanling to simatai. The great wall is beautiful, but it has been renovated to it's detriment. When we set out it was like walking along the walls of the magical kingdom at Disneyworld. Whilst being pursued by a load of hawkers. However, after half an hour or so we got to a part which was dilapidated and quite tough going, as you would expect an old wall to be. This was more like it, the landscape the wall runs along is stunning, running over mountains, into valleys, along ridges. The type of landscape I wouldn't march an army along whether a wall was there or not. Contractors today would struggle to build a wall along some of this terrain, so when you get a hawker free moment to just look at it and contemplate their acheivement it is amazing. Marginally better than Hadrians wall.
The forbidden city was another amazing sight, we got there early so we could at least try and avoid the hordes and the first sight of it is beautiful. You can just imagine it when the only people were the emporer and his attendants and numerous ladyfriends. The audio tour provided by 007 Roger Moore
tiananmen square
The two of us on Tiananmen square is the high point though. We spent a few hours after the tour just walking round the quieter parts and it is beautiful. Watch the last emporer then come along and see it for yourself.
The summer palace on the other hand was pretty disappointing. You couldn't move for tourists, it smelt, and the water level of the lake was down by what seemed to be ten feet. Perhaps we came in the wrong season but I didn't like it and wasn't too sad to leave after a couple of hours. One bonus was meeting a still half drunk from the night before German lad who kept tripping over and saying 'oops a daisy' in a german accent. Worth the admission fee alone! He also taught us a bit of chinese that was pretty invaluable.
My favourite experience in Beijing had to be food related, the food markets where you can watch macho tourists eat insect kebabs then nearly honk on the pavement. We were soft and went for sweet rather than savoury, deep fried banana balls and loads of candied strawberries. There is also a goods market next to it where Bec showed too much interest in
Tasty chinese food
Finger licking good! a pair of baby shoes and was lucky to get out alive. The trader had her by one arm and I had her by the other trying to drag her out. I won, only just (by sheer size probably), and all we could hear behind us was the distraught woman shouting 'not later, you buy now!'
The very best was the Beijing Duck though. We decided to blow the budget and go to quinjan quanjude roast duck restaraunt just off wanfujing. It is the most amazing thing I have ever tasted. It just melts in your mouth and I can still taste the flavour of it today. Unfortunately I can never eat Beijing duck again because it will only be a pale immitation. If I'm ever rich enough I will get it flown to the UK especially.
So that was Beijing. A great city if you look below the surface of rampant capitalism and skyscraper building. It's a shame that they are trying to ruin it by converting it into yet another faceless city.
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Karl and Mel
non-member comment
Wow!
Have you guys ever thought of publishing a real travel journal?! We feel like we've seen, smelt and tasted each part of your adventure so far...! We're well impressed and only wish we were there too!! Have fun and we'll look forward to the next installment... Karl and Mel xx