3rd March – Beijing

3rd March – Beijing

One word, overwhelming (Stephan has just added amazing) Not sure how to describe what we have seen so far but will do our best.

We docked at the port of Tianjin and were met by our driver for our 2½ hour (about 220 Kilometres we had thought it was only about 15 -20miles) journey to Beijing. The journey took us through flat and very dry countryside. We saw shanty houses, spoiled by satellite dishes and people working in the fields. I needed a pit stop so we pulled into what I suppose is their equivalent of a service station but was very pleased to find the toilets clean and half of them western. There was only one problem; the toilet was so far forward in the cubicle I could hardly close the door.

WARNING; IF YOU HAVE A SQUEAMISH STOMACH MISS OUT THE NEXT PARAGRAPH. Apart from Dalian most toilets are a mixture of both squat and western; however, there is one fundamental difference which most westerners like ourselves find disgusting and that is the fact that once you have done what is necessary on the toilet you don't flush the paper away, instead you put it in a bin placed inside the cubicle. As I said, absolutely disgusting. I must say that on occasion I have forgotten and simply flushed it away. Another disgusting habit is the constant spitting you come across as you walk round the streets; and not just any simple spit but a full inhale, cough and spit!!!

Anyway, back to the real stuff. As we neared Beijing the scenery changed dramatically and skyscrapers and new builds appeared everywhere we looked. Simply overwhelming. The driving is horrendous; there is no lane discipline and drivers simply weave in and out of traffic, turn left from the furthest lane away (or right) yet somehow we survived. Our hotel is the Novotel Peace and it's location is just perfect – about 20 minutes from the Forbidden City and only 5 minutes from one of the major shopping streets.

Beijing, or Peking as it used to be called, has served as China's cultural, political and administrative capital for more than 700 years. Roughly 23 million people live in Beijing and its immediate surrounds, more than Australia's entire population and until you see it for yourself you simply cannot comprehend the amount of people moving around. Once we had checked in we decided to walk to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. The Forbidden City is a 250 acres complex of palaces, pavilions, gardens and ceremonial courtyards and was home to the imperial court of 24 Ming & Qing emperors. Unfortunately for us this weekend China is holding its Annual Congress in a Hall immediately opposite the Forbidden City and the whole area is flooded with Police and Army, both looking very menacing. They were stopping locals and frisking them but letting westerners through. However, when we reached the Forbidden City it was very quiet and we seemed to be the only westerners there. We both felt a little nervous and as a result virtually ran round a tiny bit of the FC, before deciding we wanted to leave. Tiananmen Square is actually closed, although I understand you can walk round its perimeter, but we decided we didn't like the 'feel' of the place and set off back to the hotel. Somehow we got slightly lost so we went into the usual McDonalds to find our way and discovered we were in a street called Shopping Street – yes, that's really its name and when you see the shops, both tat and upmarket (Cartier, etc) you can understand why. One shop presented a really tatty looking frontage but because plenty of people were going in and out we were curious and decided to investigate. Immediately behind the front doors was a heavy split curtain – the type you might see in a warehouse usually partitioning the shop from the rear of the building – we pushed our way through and what a surprise; rows and rows of 24 carat gold jewellery and gifts greeted us, plus silver, and top range watches and exquisite jade ornaments. Quite simply it was an Aladdin's cave of enormous wealth – and this is what we are finding just about everywhere we go. It's almost impossible to try and explain what we have seen here, despite seeing it on the TV the reality is much more than you can take in. Construction is everywhere, and not just in Beijing, near our hotel they are building a Waldorf Astoria; further down the road there are showrooms selling Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Bugattis it is simply unbelievable. You cannot take it in.

After a rest and a shower we had a very pleasant surprise when Faye & John turned up. Their hotel is only 5 minutes away. We went for something to eat and then returned to Shopping Street and thoroughly enjoyed seeing their faces when we took them to the jewellery store. After a very pleasant stroll we said our goodbyes and headed back to our hotel for an earlyish night as we knew the following day was going to be a very long one.