Suzanne after Hong Kong: Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni! (Welcome to Beijing!)

In the words of Inigo Montoya, "Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up."

It was a big week in Beijing, but I think we hit all the big spots that we each wanted to see. How to sum up ...?

I guess it always helps to start at the beginning. Josh and I left on Saturday, November 1st for the 24+ hour train ride from Hong Kong to Beijing. We had opted for a soft sleeper (four bed, bunk style, in a compartment) as opposed to a hard sleeper (even harder beds, six together bunk style, and open to the corridor). By sheer luck no one else was placed in our compartment, so we had the place to ourselves. We soon realized just how spoiled we had been in Hong Kong with many people speaking at least some English, and signs being bilingual. Not the case on the train, and this was only a taste of what was to come in Beijing where hardly anyone knew any English at all, and I can't read Chinese so it was a bit of a challenge. We quickly lost favor with the attendant on the train when we tried to ask where to find water, and she thought we were expecting her to get it for us. She was none too pleased with us the rest of the journey. Oh well. And we didn't get food on the train, just the snacks (chips, Goldfish crackers) I had packed. And the on-board toilets left quite a lot to be desired. But on the up side, I saw quite a bit of the country, which was very nice.

After arriving at the train station, we entered the line marked "English Speaking" to purchase our tickets back to Hong Kong for the next weekend. Despite the sign though, the person at the counter hardly spoke any English, but we got sorted in the end. Next, we had to spend a good chunk of time finding someone who could write the address of our hostel in Chinese so we could find a taxi to take us there, and even then we got let out on the wrong street. After a bit of wandering with our luggage down a dark alley, we literally stumbled on our hostel.

The Red Lantern House had been described by others online as a 5 Star Hostel, and it was really quite nice with great atmosphere and yummy food. After dumping our things, we relaxed, had some dinner, and hit the sack to prepare for our next five days of sightseeing.

On Monday, we headed to Beihei Park which, by looking at my map didn't look too far away. But of course, it was a bit further than anticipated. We walked through the beautiful scenery of the park, and around the lake down toward the Forbidden City. Maz has been to Beijing before, so she headed off on her own and Josh and I took on the Forbidden City. My first impression: IT IS HUUUUGE!!! Why one family needed to call such a place home is beyond me, but as you walk through you can see just how much sovereignty and divinity was given to the emperor. Everything had some level of symbolism. I was just loving the history and just how ancient the place is. After lots and lots of walking, we headed out with the throng of Chinese tourists across to Tian'anmen Square, which is really just a big plaza but of course holds much historical significance.

The next day saw us trek out to Summer Palace, the summer place for emperors to go to. Again, it was MASSIVE but so, so pretty! There were temples, pavilions, stone pathways, scultpures, statues, a lake ... just so much! There is even a boat made with a marble hull to signify that the Qing Dynasty would never fail and would remain solid as a rock.

That evening, we ventured out for Beijing Duck. I really had no idea what was involved with Beijing Duck, but apparently it's a whole thing. Our waiter brought out the duck, along with a bowl of sliced cucumber and sliced onion, a dish of sauce of some sort, and a stack of pancakes (not the type of pancake you're thinking of ... much thinner and used in many Chinese dishes). You dip the duck in the sauce and place it in the pancake, then add the cucumber and onion, all using your chopsticks. We had to get the waiter to show us first. And it was sooo goood! Definitely worth getting lost for half an hour before finding the place.

Wednesday was my highlight. We booked a tour for the Great Wall, and because of our location got picked up first by the mini bus around 7:15 am. We picked up the rest of our group, around 12 of us total, and Justin, our Chinese guide started the tour. We first headed to the Jade Factory, and then on to the Great Wall about two hours away. To get up to the Wall, we took a chair lift much like you would take when skiiing. It was great! Being on the Wall was a lot of walking and climbing, and you could see the wall snaking off miles away in the distance over the tops of other mountains. Like I said before, I love the history, and this was right up my alley. I have always wanted to see the Great Wall! And it definitely lived up to my expectations. The view was beautiful, the weather was cold and clear, and I just really enjoyed it. To get down the mountain back to the street where our tour was meeting up, we actually got to toboggan. Maz and I both agreed the toboggan was almost as good as the Great Wall itself, it was that much fun. Definitely not something they would allow to do in the States without many precautions and wavers. But in China, anything goes. It was just a metal open chute zig-zagging down the mountain, and we sat individually on little sled things - no seatbelt or anything. The very bored girl running it just told us how to stop and to lean into the turns, then let you go. And it was SO much fun!! After this, we had some good Chinese food, then headed to a tea tasting, then got dropped back off at our hostel where we collapsed.

Thursday was much more relaxed, and I ventured out on my own to see the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower, both steep climbs to get to but I got a great drum performance at the top. On Friday, we headed to the silk markets where we were overwhelmed by vendors trying to sell us their wares as we walked by, shaking scarves and yelling, "Lady! Special price for you!" That afternoon, Maz and I decided to join the 10 million strong in Beijing who ride bikes everywhere (it's a very, very common thing and they have separate lanes all over for those on bikes). It was a bit more difficult than it looks, partly because neither of us has ridden a bike in years. People are walking all over the place, and there are many, many others on bikes as well so you really had to pay attention while weaving through people and other vehicles, but you can use the handy bell to tell people to move. And the bikes don't follow red lights or anything else - it's pretty much a free for all. But we made it to the zoo where we stopped in to see the eight baby pandas Beijing got for the Olympics - SO CUTE!! - then back on the bikes to head home.

Finally, on Saturday Josh and I headed back to the train station and after a few more minor challenges, difficulties, and confusion we boarded our train where we shared a compartment with two Chinese ladies. The train back was 25 hours, and at the end we were trying to converse with one of the Chinese ladies. Through very limited use of my Mandarin phrase book and lots of miming, we got a little information from each other.

By the time Josh and I got home, I was exhausted and ready for a shower and some real food. There really is no place like home when you have been away.

I loved Beijing, but it was so different than Hong Kong. I guess I thought living in Hong Kong would make Beijing easier, but not at all. Having no one speak English was tough. Also, vehicles and people all over was mayhem. Hong Kong is white busy too, but in a little more orderly fashion. At least I didn't have to deal with the added culture shock of Chinese culture, since I already was ready for that from Hong Kong.

One of the things I mentioned to Maz was that, while in Hong Kong I can't understand anyone speaking Cantonese, somehow that feels more comfortable than being in Beijing where I still can't understand anyone because they are speaking Mandarin. So even though I can't understand either way, the Cantonese is more familiar and at least I can say "Hello, how are you?" in Cantonese as opposed to Mandarin, where I am speechless.

All in all, a very nice, fun, adventurous week. I hope to visit mainland China again some day. (I hope this was a good 'sum up' of my week and not too long!)