Beijing

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Well here we are again but this time in China!

I really did not want to leave Japan as I enjoyed it so much over there however I was ready for my next challenge. And it was a big one...

After getting up at 6am to make my 7am train to the airport I was pretty tired, sleep deprived from the snorers in my room! I was taking 2 flights, Tokyo to Shanghai and then Shanghai to Beijing, simple right?? Oh noooooo! I landed in Shanghai to be ushered off the plane, frogmarched through immigration and the straight to the next boarding gate, I thought there would be time for food seeing as I did not get fed on the plane as there were no vegetarian options, great start. So there is a very hangry Boom getting on the plane. Once we have boarded an announcement goes out to say we have missed our slot and are delayed. No information to say how long...2 hours later, still on the plane we take off! Hangry Boom is no longer hungry and angry but extremely tired too, not sure what word there is for that??

Anyway we land in Beijing and I successfully navigate my way to the hostel train st and then slightly in the wrong direction away from my hostel, oops! I manage to ask a German couple for directions who then walked with me all the way there, bless them. Luckily got to my hostel, checked in, ordered some food, sat down and Glee was on in the commom room, done, sorted, one happy boom...welcome to China.

The next day was day 1 in China, I was lucky enough to get chatting to a guy in my room Dylan "the kiwi" he had been in Beijing for a week or so and was telling me the good places to visit, brilliant. We went to see the forbidden city and Tiananmen square on day 1, they are in close proximity to each other which is good. Forbidden City seemed to go on forever, a stunning set of buildings, striking colours. You walk through a number of different secrions which all seem to replica each other but all habe different meanings. Once you get to the end you can climb up and see a near enough birde eye view of the whole city, it looks pretty incredible, you can really start to see all the time and effort that went into building it. That evening we met an american girl that the kiwi had met in Cambodia, she brought along another american girl that she had met in Hong Kong, we all went to an american diner had burgers, mine veggie and took part in the pub quiz, which sadly we did not win but got some free drink cards!!

The next day we took it easy and visited the Art district 798 which was a really cool place, reminded me of Melbourne's art and graffiti district. Mooched round there, checking out the free galleries, the majority of the artists are Asian so there were all kinds of weird and wonderful images. That evening still wanted to take it quite easy as we were getting up early to see The Great Wall so we went to the weird food street Wangfujing where you can buy and try all kinds of odd food and the market sellers are badgering you. I out tried some tofu that was deep fried and smelt so bad, they actually name it smelly tofu! Deep fried ice cream and honey fruit, it was good! There were a lot of foods I did not agree with like sparrow, scorpion, snakes, starfish all on skewers, eewwwwwww

Eating loads of dumplings and street food which is so cheap and tasty, Asia is definitely introducing me to different culinary delights, sometimes I have no idea what I am eating and dread to think..

The Great Wall of China, well this is the one I have been waiting for! It was absolutely awe inspiring, it goes on for as far as the eye can see. Really spectacular, it took my breath away in both meanings. I think I spent over 3 hours walking it, getting higher and higher, harder and harder. It was possibly the best day weather wise as the sun was shining. I met a girl on the way who is partly Indian, Swiss, American who lives between India and Thailand, we walked most of it together chatting travel and life then shared a celebratory beer at the bottom. I was quite looking forward to doing this on my own but it was actually really nice to share the experience and share life stories! You all know what I am like once I get talking...

The kiwi and I took a trip to Beijing Zoo which I was actually quite excited about, they have Giant Pandas, Bears, Lions, as well as animals from Australia, America, Africa etc so I was thinking this was going to be pretty good. I was quite disappointed at the size of some of the enclosures and the way some of the animals looked. It was a really hot day and I couldn't see any water for them, a lot were in the shade maybe just hanging out but I couldn't help but feel quite sad, the highlight of the day was the otters, they were really cute and funny to watch, dipping in and out of the water, if I was an otter there I would be pleased with what I had!

I took a visit to the Temple of Heaven which is a listed world heritage sight and slightly different to the many other temples I have previously seen. Again it was a beautiful day and the temple had some lovely surroundings where you could lay down and take it all in but I was there to see it not to laze around! The actual temple is a circular shape which was different, it had the most amazing colours, I sat for a while and took it all in...people watching...

I have heard many things about China from friends and family who have visited, I have also already met people along this trip so far who have told me their opinions. Both good and bad, so therefore I decided to come here with an open mind and just enjoy my time and the opportunities that arose. So far so good! The culture is very different to home and to Japan, everyone pushes and shoves, no matter if you have bags, luggage, kids! Getting on and off the subway can be a nightmare at rush hour as there is no order. Even on the streets people push

past and you really have to watch out for cars, bikes, motorised vehicles as they will take you down and beep at you till you get out of the way. Pedestrians have NO right of way anywhere. I am getting used to the hocking and spitting that is totally normal on the street, subway, restaurant, you name it. Just try not to watch it happen...or land on you! Eating habits are different too, slurping as loudly as you want, drinking the broth from the bowl, anything goes in China!

I have discovered that there are a lot of rules and regulations to abide too, some are extreme. They still have the one child policy, so you see a lot of families with their one and only, a lot of spoiled kids emporer and empress syndrome. If you end up having another child the father has to pay a years salary, that's the rules. If you cannot pay the father goes to jail. So it is really only the rich that have more than one child. I was also told by a tour guide that if you commit a crime where you are sentenced to death, your family have to pay for the bullet to kill you, this is meant as a deterrent for crime, interesting hey?!

I have been slightly disappointed at the lack of people wanting my photo!! I had a few people on The Great Wall ask and I have seen a few people attempt at a sneaky photo or video of me, I find it hilarious and I am just going to stand there and pose! I stick out like a sore thumb and people just tend to stare at me a lot and not discreetly either. The worst is when you are trying to eat, especially with chopsticks as you know you're not great at it anyway without being watched intensely.

It is a lot cheaper over here, you can eat a good local dish for around £2 and accommodation is on average between £5-£10 a night, the beer is less than a £1 in the convenience store and around under £5 in bars so it is pretty good going. I am loving all the different street food, really trying to try as much as I possibly can. I really like the fresh green tea, none of this tea bag stuff!

I was able to photocopy a double sided piece of paper from a fellow backpacker which has heaps of useful translations, she had found it a lifesaver and I am starting too! It is my crib sheet!

In Beijing they had loads of tourist tat for you to buy but I didnt get warped into it, what I did think was hilarious is that there is one tshirt that they sell everywhere, it is an imitation of the I ♥ NY shirts...and guess what 2 letters they use for Beijing...yes...I ♥ BJ the temptation to buy one was pretty strong, but I resisted, I don't actually know if they realise just why the tourist love those shirts...plus did I actually have the guts to where it...?

I stayed in Beijing for 6 nights, really could have stayed longer but I need to start working my way through China. Next stop Xian...

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Photos

The Forbidden City
As you walk through the city, it looks similar, each building with a different meaning. It is a huge city

Looking over the Forbidden City
The panoramic almost birds eye view. Incredible

Steamed Buns
Or dumplings as we have been calling them, great snack especially at ¥2... £1 is approx ¥10. Cheap and tasty

Cute!
2 little girls in traditional dress inside the Forbidden City

Hello...?
In the art district 798 taking in the "art"

Lanterns galore
The streets are covered in Lanterns, it looks so pretty at times

Beijing Zoo
Found a new friend at the zoo...

Otters!!
I would like a pet Otter...

Temple of Heaven
A circular shaped Temple, such a beautiful day to visit

Mr Shi's dumpling restaurant
Never seen so many dumplings in my life, they defeated me!

The Great Wall in all it's glory
I took over 100 photos on the wall, you're lucky I have only put 3 on here!

Boom on Tour
The Great Wall has to be one of the best experiences yet!

We did it!
Allasandra and I sharing a celebratory beer

Comments

[shereen]

Hey Lucy lu, Loved the blog! u make me want to travel again :) it all sound amazing really interesting city. Has it been hard to see a different way they treat animals? ! Keep writing its a great read :) xxx

[hume]

this was a joke
I was also told by a tour guide that if you commit a crime where you are sentenced to death, your family have to pay for the bullet to kill you ------------------ This was a joke from one of Jackie Chan's movies. Police story?

[Boom On Tour]

Who knows...?