Day three just involved getting out of bed and getting to the airport, but I almost missed my flight anyway. The flight was at 12:55, so I planned to catch the airport train at 10:30. I woke up early and decided to spend a couple of hours walking around Beijing, taking photos. That lasted less than half an hour; I had packed shorts and t-shirts for New Zealand, and was not prepared for -2C (25F) in Beijing. So instead I had a large breakfast of bao, packed my bags, and was checking out at 10:15.
For the past two days, there was a hotel shuttle with a sign showing it would take me to the airport train, but this morning it wasn’t there. I asked how long I would have to wait and was told the shuttle stopped running at 10am.
They offered to get me a taxi but I have an irrational fear of taxis, and I declined. It was only a 15 minute walk, but dragging a large suitcase over the brick sidewalks was painful, and to actually get to the train I had to carry it up and down four flights of stairs. Fortunately I didn’t have to wait long for the train, and I was at the airport at 11:30.
It took about 45 minutes to check in, get through customs, go through security, and get the shuttle to the terminal. At some point along the way, however, I lost my mind and decided the flight was at 1:55 and I had plenty of time! I did some shopping, got on the wifi, and was thinking about getting some food. The only thing that stopped me was the big breakfast, so I headed to the gate. When I got there, about 12:35, they were on last call!
The flight back to the UK was unremarkable, except for the excruciatingly bad movies on offer (“Wolverine,” “Pacific Rim”) but it was with a heavy heart I came back to the cold gloom of London. We’d chased the sun for 11 hours, landing at 3:30pm in London, but by the time I got to Reading it was dark and raining, and it was a lonely walk back to my flat. Especially since it was a Sunday and the shops were all closed, and I didn’t have a thing to eat in the house.
I knew I wasn't going to experience Beijing in two days. The point of the trip was to dip my toe in, to experience Asia for the first time, to dispel my illusions about the communist state, the smog, overpopulation, the dirt and chaos and crush of a nation of chain-smoking Chinese. Except those were all true. But these no more define Beijing than Hollywood defines LA, or delis define New York. I can now recognize the human constants and appreciate the cultural differences, and it left me wanting more.
My only regret is not visiting the Great Wall*, although even that I’m not too disappointed about. The easiest section to get to is Badaling, which was almost completely rebuilt in the 18th century and is supposed to be very touristy. On my next trip, I hope to visit a more “authentic” section, and perhaps even spend a few days hiking along it.
Some random things I learned in Beijing:
For the past two days, there was a hotel shuttle with a sign showing it would take me to the airport train, but this morning it wasn’t there. I asked how long I would have to wait and was told the shuttle stopped running at 10am.
They offered to get me a taxi but I have an irrational fear of taxis, and I declined. It was only a 15 minute walk, but dragging a large suitcase over the brick sidewalks was painful, and to actually get to the train I had to carry it up and down four flights of stairs. Fortunately I didn’t have to wait long for the train, and I was at the airport at 11:30.
It took about 45 minutes to check in, get through customs, go through security, and get the shuttle to the terminal. At some point along the way, however, I lost my mind and decided the flight was at 1:55 and I had plenty of time! I did some shopping, got on the wifi, and was thinking about getting some food. The only thing that stopped me was the big breakfast, so I headed to the gate. When I got there, about 12:35, they were on last call!
The flight back to the UK was unremarkable, except for the excruciatingly bad movies on offer (“Wolverine,” “Pacific Rim”) but it was with a heavy heart I came back to the cold gloom of London. We’d chased the sun for 11 hours, landing at 3:30pm in London, but by the time I got to Reading it was dark and raining, and it was a lonely walk back to my flat. Especially since it was a Sunday and the shops were all closed, and I didn’t have a thing to eat in the house.
I knew I wasn't going to experience Beijing in two days. The point of the trip was to dip my toe in, to experience Asia for the first time, to dispel my illusions about the communist state, the smog, overpopulation, the dirt and chaos and crush of a nation of chain-smoking Chinese. Except those were all true. But these no more define Beijing than Hollywood defines LA, or delis define New York. I can now recognize the human constants and appreciate the cultural differences, and it left me wanting more.
My only regret is not visiting the Great Wall*, although even that I’m not too disappointed about. The easiest section to get to is Badaling, which was almost completely rebuilt in the 18th century and is supposed to be very touristy. On my next trip, I hope to visit a more “authentic” section, and perhaps even spend a few days hiking along it.
Some random things I learned in Beijing:
- Whenever driving around a blind corner at speed, honk to let people know you're coming.
- If you're in the street and you get in someone's way, and they honk at you, you're ok. If you're in the street and you get in someone's way and they start to slow down, it means something even bigger is behind you.
- Men do spit quite a lot, and it doesn’t seem to matter if they are on the sidewalk or inside a mall. However, they usually spit in front of them, so you generally don’t have to worry about getting hit. (This is not true for people on bicycles.)
- In London I've noted that young women dress in what I can only describe as "prostitute light." In Beijing, they dispense with the "light" part. Hip-length leather high-heeled boots, tights or form-fitting leggings, a short coat cinched at the waist--little is left to the imagination.
- Sidewalks are used for driving on, selling from, spitting on, and pretty much everything else except sleeping on. I have no idea where Beijing's homeless are, but perhaps there is something to Chinese communism?
- In Chinese communities and shopping malls around the world, they always have a Chinese gate. Except in China.
- To get onto the subway, you have to put your bag through an x-ray scanner *even though most of the time nobody is looking at the monitor.* They don’t actually search you, but fortunately nobody has developed a bomb that fits on your body, so it’s safe.
- You can fit more people into a small space than I ever imagined possible. Word to the wise: Do not be the last person to squeeze into a packed subway carriage, because six more people will pile on behind you!
- If you are standing in line and leave a small gap between you and the person in front, the person behind you will walk around you and move into that gap.
- The Forbidden City was never called the Forbidden City. There was a military wing inside the palace that soldiers were not allowed to approach; hence it was the "forbidden wall."
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