Day 3 Beijing

For the definition of challenging see the next photo and remember that I was attempting Tai Chi (with this gorgeous Tai Chi master) in a public park on my post Great Wall climbing legs ... (& no. I am not posting a picture of me doing it).

Awkward Tai Chi attempts aside, a walk through the park was a lovely start to the day. This is a place where locals go to meet like-minded friends for sport, dancing, singing, juggling, games, art and match-making (not the light-the-fire kind of match-making, the my-child-should-marry-your-child kind).

That poor little guy is sweeping up all those leaves with a straw broom.

This park surrounds the Temple of Heaven built in the 15th century as a place for the Emperor to worship and secure good harvests for the people. Our guide didn't tell us this but I'm pretty sure the building we saw today though is a 19th century replica that replaced the original that burnt down. Symbolism abounds, square buildings for the earth - round building for heaven - this is also a ying yang thing that you see everywhere here.

We went to a silk factory. Did you ever have silk worms growing up? I did so this was nostalgia central for me. I was hoping to see the looms in action but like the jade factory the creative side was a poor second to the sales floor.

Lunch today was in the old part of town in a local's home, how cute is this guy who was our chef.

in the same area (Hutong) we went on a rickshaw ride around the old streets, how cute is this guy - rickshaw rider extraordinaire.

To follow the theme of cute guys, we visited this fella who told us an amazing story about crickets all in Chinese as though we understood him.

In another time warp day there was still shopping to be done (5 floors of it), dinner to be eaten, glasses to be sorted out. This last one deserves an explanation ...

Those 24 hour glasses we got yesterday worked well for me but were a bit wonky for Mike, literally - the world looked wonky when he had them on today. And I have to say everyone involved in getting that sorted out (our guide, the optometrists, the drivers) were just wonderful. They really make everything so easy here and in such a nice way. We did have a little waiting to do though - and we were really happy to return to our room where this was waiting ...

delightful confirmed.

Day 2 Beijing

The good thing about an organised tour is that you don't have to choose what you'll see out of the many myriad attractions holiday destinations offer.

The slightly less desirable thing about an organised tour is that you don't get to chose the things you see each day.

We started the day at a Jade factory. It was interesting but I wouldn't have chosen to go there myself because the high pressure selling after the tour makes me feel uncomfortable. MGM & I found coffee so we could sit and wait in comfort for the shoppers in the group. The carvings were amazing though.

From the Jade factory we journeyed on to the Great Wall. Now this is a destination of choice. What an amazing place. To build 5000kms of wall to keep the invaders out, 500 years ago i.e. manpower alone and to be able to walk on it still today ... such a priviledge.

As you can see we had foggy again today and it was cold until we started climbing. As we went on clothes came off (remaining decent of course). it was a workout indeed.

The steps are uneven, Some of them were knee high on me, there was a certain amount of concentration involved and some all fours action - so not attractive.

 Stairs inside a guard room, clearly not for us to climb.

but these areas were a nice break in the steep climbing.

Our reward for climbing up into the mist was a pic with this monument that says (according to our guide) we've climbed the wall so we're heroes - totally embracing this idea. Also having our photo taken like we're celebrities, pale skin and blue eyes is interesting in this part of the world.

With trembling legs we ventured off around the the Olympic site, another place I probably wouldn't have gone to. It was a bit of a nothing visit we walked around but not into any buildings.

It was nice to follow that up with a traditional tea ceremony. Certain friends of mine would have been in heaven right there!

there was the high pressure selling thing going on after again, but MGM and I did a runner to the bus.

and then we come back to this, hotel living is delightful.

and they bring food right to your room

Day 1 Beijing

The view from my window this morning ...

And if I turn around ...

Yes. I spent a few minutes feeling a smidge guilty about the 5starishness but I got over that pretty quickly.

And please forgive me for stating the obvious but holidays are awesome, especially it turns out, on a tour. If you spoke to me before we left you'd know I was a bit dubious about holidaying on an organised tour. Not only was there no need to be concerned (yes I can hear you saying 'I told you so') but apparently these tours do something to time! We have, for instance, only been here for one day and yet it feels like a week and we have seen a week's worth of sights ... today!

Here they are ...

and once again ...

  

This is a gate. Can you believe that? can you imagine the size of the wall this gate would have fitted into!? They do BIG here without batting an eyelid. Most of the city walls have been removed to make way for a burgeoning city, some small parts remain and of course these huge gates, there's four left I think.

 

  

Tian'anmen square: Biggest square in the world which was strangely not as impressive as I thought it would be. Like many people I know it as the scene of high drama in 1989 but of course there's no sign of that now. There are very serious guards all over the place, but you'd expect that in any significant cultural site in today's climate.

Forbidden Palace: really really big palace. This is the first of many gates and moats and courtyards before you get to the real forbidden bits (where the Emporers lived).



Then we went for much delish food at lunch on our way to the Summer Palace - which is even bigger in area, 2/3 of which is covered by this man-made lake.



You might notice the wonderful wendyweather 6 & foggy perfect (well okay snow would make it perfect but there's time for that)

My pedometer had a nervous breakdown a this point in the day.

We had an hour or so to get ready for a Peking Duck banquet dinner (which was the same meal as lunch but with duck).

After dinner we went to get glasses. At 8PM! Thanks to our lovely guide who took is for a walk to work off dinner (I did mention that we'd already walked off meals for the next week today but she said it doesn't work that way). She  took us to a little shop where MGM and I got two pairs of glasses (for less than one pair at home) that will be ready tomorrow and delivered to our hotel!

90 min in room massages to finish the day.

Day 1 was awesome and wow ... I'm wondering how going to manage 13 more of these days!

Day 0

I am officially in holiday land (the club lounge at the airport). I've said it before once you're air-side you're on holidays!

Little snack time with a view - no probs!

Once we're on-board it's 10 hours to Chongqing then change planes & 2 hours to Beijing 😃

day 0/1 ... whatever ...traveling

After bidding farewell to these adorable people, who I miss already ...

 

 

We've flown, bussed, and walked so far for so long that I've lost all sense of time, but this always happens to me during international flights, don't try and explain it. Many have gone before you and failed - my brain just can't comprehend it.

 

leg 1: Sydney to Chongqing: after a very pleasant flight which included lots of food, little sleep and one movie; we journeyed through baggage claim, customs, and around the corner, literally, to recheck/weigh our bags (to which we had not added anything), moved to the next counter - in the same room had to show our credentials and load our bags, went through security IN THE SAME ROOM produce credentials blah blah before we went into a waiting room.

 

In this room the same people who were in the last room asked us straight-faced to see our credentials again before they boarded the bus with us to go to another terminal where, you guessed it, we had to show them our credentials.

 

So you might be surprised when I tell you that what followed was the bizarre bit, so bizarre I am convinced we were the entertainment for the day for airport staff . In terminal two a select few of us were personally escorted to the first class lounge (nice right?!)

This luscious space we shared with just four others feeling very posh, and so here is the bizarre bit ...

We were collected and escorted to the boarding gate for the next flight.

 

Had out boarding pass check just like normal.

 

Walk down the ramp, just like normal but ... no plane.

 

A bus.

 

In which we were then driven back the exact same way we came 2 hours earlier (I am sure of it!) We all went back up the stairs to another gate.

 

Boarding pass check.

Walk down the ramp.

Tadah! the plane!

 

Maybe it was the lack of sleep, this all seemed very odd. I'm sure this is the way it went, I'm sticking to this story.

 

leg 2: Chongqing to Beijing: Asleep for the next two hours.

 

We breezed through baggage claim and customs (pays to travel through these places at 2:30 am) and were met at the arrivals gate for hotel transfer. Relaxing for Mike not to have the usual pick up the hire car/negotiate out of the airport/remember to stay on the right side of the road routine, especially as our 1½ car lengths apart does not apply here.

 

We're in the Renaissance hotel right in the centre of Beijing. Renae and Becca & all my booky friends, how's THIS for decorating in style. Yes they are real books (well at least the ones I could reach) and yes I have put my order in for this décor at home.

 

 

I wanted to eat dinner and go straight to bed but Mike vetoed that plan on the grounds that it was 11am. wait, ... what? I counted up the hours and by my reckoning it should have been about 8pm on Monday night.

 

I still have no idea what day it is but it's pretty exciting to be in a city you've never seen before so we went for a walk in the grey, cold wendyweather - not snowing but I'm hopeful ;)

 

 

See you tomorrow, or today or yesterday for more holiday fun.

China!

It's long past time for the Allans to be abroad in the wide world again. In 2015 we have a quick trip to exotic China.

 

Now I know 'exotic' might not be the first adjective that comes to your mind for China. Perhaps for you exotic is more like the Bahamas, or India or even darkest Africa, but to us China fits that bill.

 

To see the Forbidden City, built 1406-1420 by more than a million workers and surviving revolution, war and the vagaries of time itself.

 

To climb the great wall - what a people! Can you imagine even considering building a wall that long (21, 196 km) with 21st century tools? And not only considering but doing it (well not all of it at once) in the 7th century?!

 

To cruise the Yangtze, and see the amazing scenery of the Three Gorges ...

 

The mystery.

 

The majesty.

 

This is exotic.

 

We leave tomorrow, come along with us. I'll post when I can - I hope to be regular but I'll admit I don't know how it's all going to work given I use Blogger and China is not a fan.

Forbidden city

 

 

Great Wall of China

 

 

Yangtze

 

Day 37 All Over Red Rover

Well what an adventurous night for our last night! After blogging, packing and generally making sure we'd be ready in the morning I took myself off to bed and was just dropping of when I realised MGM was not the only other living thing in the room with me.

Hoping for a mouse and fearing something lager I began a vigil to ensure that it was actually in the wall and not the room. I was so brave, I didn't wake MGM...I just watched. Well I watched until it ran right at me and scooted under the bed, which elicited a squeal and an advance across the bed in the opposite direction from the mouse and straight on top of the poor unsuspecting, soundly sleeping MGM. 

As it was 4am there was no point in alerting hotel staff. MGM went straight back to sleep  safe in the knowledge that it would be more scared of us blah blah. I tried to be safe in that knowledge too, but try and convince your subconscious of anything at 4 in the morning & you can guess what that little mouse did to my dreams. 

It was a lovely old fashioned hotel right up until I saw that mouse and I guess it's still a nice old fashioned hotel but with a mortified front desk staff who could not apologise enough and I think were happy we were checking out right after we told them. What a way to start our last day!

So here's the best and least of our holiday in a nutshell

Sweden: 

best - my relies are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet & Stokholm public library

Least - not as much of the white stuff falling on our heads as we thought we'd have

Norway:

Best - snow mobiling Northern lights and the short short days

Least - road infrastructure for drive-yourself travel

Denmark 

Best - lots of snow that we weren't expecting

Least - not meeting up with my friend (because of my poor organisational skills)

Austria

Best - well you know the answer to this ... Grundlesee 

Least - nup got nothin'

Germany

Best - lovely towns like Lübeck & Trier 

Least - dinners (for me, MGM loves meat meat meat)

NYC

Best - walking in the snow in CP & every other little thing! We loved NYC

Least - mouse misadventures

Thanks for joining me on our travels. Sitting down in the evening & blogging the events of each day a most enjoyable aspect of AllansAbroad. See you all soon.