14th March - Arrive Beijing airport early morning and managed to get on to a bus going to the area my hostel was in...or so i thought. The joy of China is that very few people speak English and my Chinese is limited to the few phrases in my guide book...which isn't great when you find yourself getting off the wrong stop in the middle of Beijing, not having a clue where you are and wearing summer clothes from Thailand when its bloody freezing in china..Doh!! Anyway its at times like this when you meet the nicest locals. After being observed with amusement by the older generation of Chinese on their way to work ( i must admit i looked ridiculous wearing ventilation trousers that kept blowing open in
the Beijing breeze), a younger guy stopped and asked if he could help me. Yes he confirmed my stupidity that I had got off the bus 3 stops too soon and was miles away from where I needed to be. So I thanked explained it was because I'm blonde (the joke didn't quite translate) then grabbed a taxi to the hostel. Spent an afternoon exploring Beijing and was pleasantly surprised, after hearing a few stories about it not being a traveller friendly place I actually really like it. The people are polite (apart from the gross spitting), ok its very difficult to communicate, and the streets signs are a nightmare, but its a very safe place so getting lost is part of the fun and you wonder around areas that most tourists would miss.
Day two in Beijing - trip to Ming Tomb and the Great Wall. Met Nick from London, good laugh so spent the day swapping our amusing travelling stories. The highlight of the day was definitely the Great Wall, just amazing and even tho its busy and you cant help but knock over a few tiny Chinese and Japanese tourists along the way, it is without a doubt worth it. We walked at the Badalling part of the wall which is quite popular, so I would try a more remote area next time.
The Jade factory and the Chinese Tea rooms where good experiences too, and good a excuse to shop.
That evening Nick and I decided to try a restaurant that had been recommended as serving the best Peking duck. After eventually sussing out
the tube trains we finally reached this restaurant to be greeted by the guy at the door telling us it was closed. However he could take us to
another restaurant that was also good and only 5mins away. So in our ignorance, we followed this guy through some back streets for about 15mins to be shown to a dodgy entrance of a backstreet restaurant. As we were shown inside and taken through to a room behind a curtain, we noticed there was no one else eating in the place, we suddenly looked at each other and decided a sharpish exit was necessary. We smiled at the guy, said we'd changed are minds and ran like hell down the road. Ok lesson learned ..we were slightly too trusting, but this was the only time I fell into a scam in China, so overall all I would say its a safe place.
The following day we strolled around the Summer Palace, this place is a must if going to Beijing and a great way to spend a Sunday, its surroundings are beautiful and a good place to chill. Other must see's in Beijing, Tiananmen Square, and the Forbidden City. (but best avoided during riots re Tibet!)
I spent a bit longer than I planned in Beijing, as I really enjoyed the culture, but did eventually move on to see more of China.
