Beijing

Ní Hăo!! Well this trip was always going to be eventful with Tom involved! We only managed to get as far as our stopover in Thailand before something went wrong…It all started with the Thai green curry at Bangkok Airport, the “best curry” he’d eaten yet! We had 12 or so hours to kill before check in to our connection flight so we went out for a few drinks. Shortly after returning to the airport, Tom had the most horrific food poisoning I think I’ll ever see…poor bloke. Not being well enough to fly, Gemma decided to stay with him and get the next available flight to Beijing. When Simon, Collette and I were looking for our seat on the plane, confused that we couldn't find isle 17 in economy, we were shown towards our ‘free upgrade’ business class seats! Get in!! Finally we could get some proper sleep!

Beijing was mental from the first step we took out of the airport, taxi drivers grabbing us and our bags to get us in their taxi. Luckily we were aware they would be well overcharging us, and we eventually came across an independent driver who took us to our hostel for a reasonable price. They drive like nutters out here! And I thought Italy was bad!

Dragon King Hostel was perfect for our first stop after a long couple of days. The staff were great and spoke very good English, and happy hour daily for BOGOF on their local lager. We met a bunch of other friendly travellers in our few days there, Claus from Finland, Kate and Katherine from Plymouth, a Moroccan guy called Saad, Sophie from Bordeaux, and Bennie from Germany who we’re hoping to meet back up with in Vietnam.

We decided not to do a great deal the day we arrived, just have a wander about and get a feel for the place. I found it very lively and sociable with so much character, there’s always lots happening. Locals sit out on the street and play cards or other Chinese games, such as Mahjong through day and night dragging crowds cheering them on. As soon as night hits even more people come out to play! Small fires being lit on street corners, groups of people dancing, and late night markets are everywhere!

On Thursday we took the metro to Beijing Zoo to see the giant panda, they also have polar bears and white tigers which was cool! There didn't seem to be much space for many of them though, especially the rhinos which were cooped up in a room barely as big as them. I don’t think they were very well looked after which was sad. On the plus side though, the metro is so easy to use, easier than the London underground! And it was only 2 Yuan (about 20p) per ticket to get you anywhere you want in the city!

Hou Hai Lake

After the zoo we took a walk around Beihai Park and Hou Hai Lake. Unfortunately it was getting late so we didn't see a lot of Beihai, but managed to see some of the gardens and temples. Hou Hai had a great atmosphere at night, as soon as you arrive the locals get you involved in there ‘hacky sack’ type games! It’s quite a touristy spot with pubs and restaurants around the lake, quite pricey but it was fun to walk around and see all the live music being played.

Lama Temple

Friday was when it started getting hot, nearly 40 degrees :) Not sure what it’s like back home at the moment?? We decided to visit Lama (Yonghe) Temple which is still active and used for Tibetan Buddhism. It was Interesting to see the burning of incense, and there’s the world’s tallest Buddha statue carved from a single piece of wood...Pretty impressive! Gemma and Tom were due to arrive in the afternoon so it was finally time to officially start our trip! Turns out Tom had to go to hospital to treat his illness and he raved about the service! They saw him straight away, gave him the injections and drugs he needed, and he was on his way! To top it off, all of it was half the price he would have paid for his insurance excess! Real peace of mind after all the horror stories you hear about hospital service in South East Asia. After a few drinks we headed off to see the flag lowering at Tiananmen Square.

Tiananmen Tower

Great Wall

Great Wall

Saturday was the day for the Great Wall. For me it lived up to all expectations, the views were superb! We went to the Mutianyu section which is further out of Beijing so slightly less busy than other sections, plus the toboggan ride back down was fun ;) Most of this part of the wall has been rebuilt over time but we managed to trek part of the “non-tourist area” for a more authentic experience.

Wangfujing Street Market

After happy hour we all went to the Wangfujing street market when they have the snack stalls…Scorpions, bats, cockroaches and all sorts of other weird bugs on sticks! Tom built up the courage to try the cockroach, followed by Simon and me, not nice!! Maybe I’ll wait to try them again in Cambodia where I hear they dip them in sprinkles!

Hungover from celebrating Sophie’s birthday last night, we choose to have an easy-going last day in Beijing. We went back to the street with the Lama temple to introduce Tom to the stuffed steamed rolls that Simon and I came across, stuffed with either beef and shallot or pork and stuffing with gravy. They were so good! And at 1 Yuan a steal! After Gemma and Collette finished their vegetarian buffet we headed off to Qianmen Street for a bit of shopping in the ancient Chinese street and Hutong neighbourhoods.

I’m writing this post on our first experience of the sleeper train and I’m glad to say it’s a lot nicer than I expected! 'Hard sleepers' are actually quite comfortable! I’ll upload some of my pictures to my Flickr page here for anybody to check out, and for friends and family I’ll upload some more of the personal ones to my Facebook page. Thanks for reading and see you in Shanghai!