As we landed at Beijing airport and passed through the 'foreigners' passport control station, we had a feeling that this tag might stay with us for a few weeks and come to haunt us. So far, we haven't been disappointed!
On arrival in Beijing we were greeted by Jonathan and swiftly taken to our hostel - a real treat hidden in the maze of the Hutongs that borders his neighbourhood. Every morning we delighted in the cultural highlights of these one-story, tightly packed, dwellings as we fought our way through to Jonathan's flat. I think the locals were treated to something special too judging by the 'ooohs' and 'aaghs' and unsubtle staring that ocurred at the sight of three westerners!
Rather than slogging around on a very busy metro for the week, Jonboy had scouted out four bicycles to make sight-seeing far more interesting. On our first morning we headed to Tianenman Square and the Forbidden City to check the tourist boxes. I have to say, despite the total lack of highway code and a few near misses, we all arrived safely - with mum pootling along a safe distance behind (it was only at night that we had to attach a flashing green light to her bicycle to keep tabs on her where abouts!). We're glad to have ticked the tourist boxes but it would be lying if we didn't admit that the Forbidden City was a little disappointing. We've come to realise that when it comes to tourist attractions in China, the best is always on the outside. For some reason, they don't feel the need to properly light anything of importance, and leaning over a flimsy barrier at the door of different buildings is apparently sufficient to experience such a wide-spanning history. Shame.
More spectacularly, a few days into our trip, we got the chance to visit the Great Wall. And, regardless of a little drizzle, it was very spectacular! It's incredible to stand on the wall and watch it weave up and over the mountain ridges until it disappears into a never-ending horizon. Jonathan told us that he had the opportunity to experience the wall early in the morning with the morning mist rolling over the top of it and the sun rising - I can imagine this would be pretty awe-inspiring.
The week in Beijing seems so long ago now and on top of the many wonderful parks, attractions and sigts that we visited, some of our best moments included spending a week in the life of Jonboy. To make sure we received an authentic experience, we were even escorted to a Kung fu class and made to work hard and flex limbs we never knew we had for a couple of hours! Mum became a conoisseur in Tai Chi and could even have become a convert back home! To reward ourselves for our hard work, we headed to snack street - a fairly touristy row of street stalls selling everything you can imagine from noodles to barbecued tarantula. The barbecued scorpions weren't so bad... a bit like salty crisps, but we definitely weren't up for the seahorse!
Like any good tour guide, Jonathan made sure that we had our fill of local delicacies during the week and it was fantastic to go out for some different meals with various of his friends. A favourite of ours was a night at the Fish Head restaurant. As with a lot of dishes, we learnt not to knock it until we had tried it, and as it turned out,it was the tastiest thing we ate all week! We're still working on our tofu appreciation but most other foods have been a great success. Tim's turning into a dumpling!
Later on in the week, having become experienced Beijing cyclists, we experienced a minor setback. We had just enjoyed watching the many hobbies that chinese people were taking part in in the park and were heading along a fairly upmarket area flanked by embassies and many guards when mum's tyre exploded in spectacular fashion! The sound resembled a gun shot and certainly had the guards in a flurry for a few seconds. Unfortunately the repair wasn't as simple as a new tyre, as the force of the explosion had meant that the entire wheel rim had been pulled apart - nightmare! We swiftly left the bike in a safe place and resorted to some side-saddle action on the back of Jonathan's bike. As I was the smallest, I drew the lucky straw and felt even luckier to be left with my knees intact after each outting!
We had an amazing week in Beijing and will treasure it for a long time. The one thing that impressed us most was our tour guide. Ensuring that we never got ripped off (always a high risk in China) Jonathan was more than prepared to give people what for in chinese! It sounded very impressive to us! A few other things we have noted on our travels so far, that might amuse are:
1. Babies and young toddlers really do wear bottomless trousers and are trained to wee when their parents whistle. We've come to realise that on trains and in other public areas this is not always practical!
2. Chinese people spit... a lot!
3. Chinese people stare at westerners...a lot. And they point you out to all their friends and family too. I imagine it's what stardom feels like?!
4. Communal toilets are not cool when you are a westerner and chinese people like to stare at you. Squatting next to a local is a disturbing experience - should you start up conversation or just stare straight ahead...who knows!
That's all for now, but we'll make sure we keep you up to date with anything else!
Love to all!!
