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Published: February 10th 2010
Where did this journey begin? I think the answer would have to be May 2009, after a short stop in Kl on the way to Vietnam with friends Craig & Annette. We had stopped in KL to visit friends Kerry & Paul and Dean spoke to them about always wanting to teach English in Asia somewhere. We spoke about courses available to enable us to do that and, the seed was planted. So after some real brain drain, another trip to Vietnam in Oct 2009 to complete our pract teaching, with TESOL certificates in hand here we are.
So after renting and packing up the house, leaving our jobs, saying our goodbyes, we had a early flight out of Perth to KL on the 4th Feb 2010 for a couple of days before flying on to Beijin .
It was a good flight and we both managed to stretch out and grab a couple of hours sleep. When we arrived at KL airport we did a quick stop at Merry Browns for a Malaysian Chicken Burger ( very nice ) before the bus trip into town. Dean sat next to a very nice male Flight Attentant who promptly fell
asleep on Deans shoulder! The look on Deans face was a picture.
I don"t know whether we are used to the lay back attitude of Perth or whether things just seem to happen in Asia but in no time we were from Airport to Hotel. We had booked the Dorset Regency Hotel in KL for two nights and it lived up to all the reviews in Trip Advisor. The staff were great, the bed very comfortable and the breakfast fantastic. That afternoon after a swim, (where we met someone whos' brother works in Port Hedland with Deans' Kiwi mate Rob) ( small world), we went to China Town and had a really nice feed of BBQ Pork, after some very loud claps of thunder the skies opened and we decided to head back.
The next morning we headed for the Towers and joined the very long queue to go up to the Sky Bridge. When we got there at about 8.30 am the queue was already about 200 deep. Anyway we did manage to get a ticket each and after a three hour wait were on our way up. The lift up goes very fast and we reached the 41st
floor in about 5 secs. The view from there is amazing. We managed to spot our Hotel and realised that we had taken the longer, or as we decided, the more scenic route to get there, but hay its didn't matter. It was a nice day for a walk!
The next morning went something like a well oiled military manovour, up at 4.30am, breakfast at 4.40am, taxi to bus station 5.10am, bus to Airport 5.45am for our 8.30am flight to China. Another couple of hours sleep before arriving at Tainjin Airport about 110klms from here. When we arrived in Tainjin it was bitterly cold, and we both make a beeline to grab our jackets, hats and gloves. There was snow piled along the runway, the trees were bare and everyone looked frozen. We had met a Canadian girl, Georgie, whilest waiting to board the aircraft, who was coming to Beijin to visit her Chinese boyfriend, it proved very helpful as he was able to write down for us in Chinese the name of the train station that we needed to get to to catch the Bullet Train. So after another taxi ride with ticket in hand we boarded the
train.The train leaves every 15 mins and was a real experience, it has the speed displayed and at one stage we were travelling at 328kms a hour. The landscape leaving Tainjin was something else, one of the first things we saw was what looked like a neuclar reactor! The flats that lined the track were very grey and with frozen waterways didn't look to inviting. It's how I imagine Russia would look. We raced though the countryside with its frozen rivers and very cold and sad looking sheep and in no time had arrived at Beijin South. We found a very helpful enquiry clerk who wrote down for us the connecting underground train stations that we needed to use and after another three connections at 6pm we arrived here at Zhangzizhonglu in the Dongcheng District Beijin.
When we come up from the subway it had started to snow. The place looked beautiful, the hostel was just around the corner on a very narrow and quiet little alleyway. The houses lining the street are all low with lovely shaped roofs and with the snow falling looked very special. The hostel is very nice, we have our own room with bathroom
and its central heated, an added bonus seeing its -6oc today. After downloading our packs we headed off looking for something to eat, all I would like to say at this point is thank heavens for pictured menus! but having said that we all know that you cann't judge a book by its cover. We decided on a beef soup and shortly after decided that maybe whilest in China we would become vegetatians! I'm sure meat in China has to become an aquired taste. Anyway it was warm.
The last three days have been wonderful the snow has cleared now but in a city of 12.6 Million people it is very easy to get around. Everyone is very polite and as helpful as can be considering the language barrier. We have seen some wonderful sites, Tainanmen Square, The forbidden City, The Great Wall, The temple of Heaven, the Olympic Village and lots more. We have eaten some wonderful vegetable dishes and even enjoyed an Ice Cream in the snow. Until next time, take care. Love from China
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Annette
non-member comment
Very Impressed
Well, what can I say. I am extremely impressed with your first blog entry (some might say, well worth the wait). What a contrast, you guys in your shorts and t/shirts in KL and then rugged up for winter at the Forgotten City. Very disappointed there are no photo's of Mr Gardiner eating "things on sticks" Look forward to your next entry. Luv Annette and Dusty