Last evening we arrived in Beijing international airport, and I must say that I was not impressed with the security provided by the PSB. I half expected to be stripped searched when I got here. We had to fill out a certificate of health, provide information on what we were brining into the country, and provide information about our stay. When we passed through customs, we merely placed our health card in a box and no body checked our luggage to make sure that I told the truth on my claims card. In general, security seemed pretty lax for a bureaucratic organization with a reputation like the PSB.
United Airlines managed to lose our luggage, and I have called their affiliates here in Beijing this morning only to find out that it could take up to three days to get our other bag. Three Days!! I am fully confident that the bag will arrive in Beijing this afternoon on the next flight from Washington D.C., but I don't think that anyone at United Airlines in Beijing has a clue where our other bag might be. This is kind of surprising since everything is done electronically now. When I have had my luggage lost before, the airlines could tell me exactly where my bags were located. In Beijing, however, the staff use computers but their filing methods seem to be stuck somewhere between the computer/high speed modern world and a world of printed paper information with limited electronic capabilities.
The hotel that we are staying in seems very nice, and I am shocked by how many of the staff speak English. Even the staff who claim to speak no English know a few helpful words and phrases. Most of the signs in our hotel are also labeled in English and in Mandarin Chinese. This has made getting around the hotel fairly easy. Some of the translations are little funny. The shop labeled as "grocery" actually sells Beijing 2008 souvenirs and no food.
Perhaps most shocking of all, however, is the air polution. I had read that the air would be very bad, but I had no idea it would be this bad. The smog settles on the city like a thick fog every day! The whole city seems to be coated in the filth from the coal burning plants. All the street lamps are coated in brown goo from the smog as well. Michelle thought about canceling the evenings that we were planning to stay in Beijing, but I still really wanted to see the Great Wall, Tianamen Square, and the Forbidden City. I think that we will tough it out and stick with our original itinerary.
