Beijing-China

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Our first impression of arriving in Beijing was how clean the airport was, the toilets, the waiting rooms, everything was spotless. A total contrast to India. Our impression of the people was their friendliness and the way they went out of their way to help. The first night we arrived a local helped us find our hotel, he rang the hotel to find its exact position, gave us his map and told us which stop to get off at and how much the taxi should cost from the bus stop to our hotel, not many people in Ireland would do that for foreigners. Our second day we were also struck by how modern and clean the city was, not at all what we had expected to find. The people here seem to embrace technology more readily than we do in Ireland. They have information booths in the street that contain a flat screen computer, type in the street name and up comes a map showing you how to get to your destination. The computer contained information on local hotels, sights etc. a very useful tool and something that we should introduce at home. We got a chance to check out the local library. It was ultra modern, they required no ID and were most helpful. Also the conservation of archaeological sites is second to none. During our three days here we got to check out many cool things, The Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, the Olympic Centre, the Hutongs and Tiananem Square. We also got the chance to climb aboard a T-62 battle tank at the Military Museum, check out the photos.

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