My Summer Vacation
Part 2: Beijing?
Off to Thailand....or was I?
Life on the cheap as it is, I went to Thailand via the least expensive route; that being Air China. The flight was Osaka to Beijing then to Bangkok. There was, however, a typhoon in Beijing. We ended up stuck on the runway in some small north China airport for 4 hours until the storm passed. Of course, that meant we missed our connecting flight. Which left my girlfriend and I stranded in the capital of China.
It was great.
To be sure, dealing with Chinese customs officials was a hassle (Beijing has a long way to go before they're ready to host the olympics). But the airline gave us a free stay in a rather nice hotel, and being non-Chinese made us easy to pick out for the other non-Chinese on the same flight. We ended up meeting a good slew of multinationals leaving Japan and a couple Japanese, all on the way to Thailand. Establishing the common connection, we braved the Beijing airport and secured our lodgings. Since we would still have the next day to kill before our flight, we all arranged to meet in the morning and do some sightseeing.
What followed was a rather quick tour of the high points of a really fascinating city. The must see, of course, was the Forbidden City and Tien'an Men Square. Easy enough to get there, the taxis were cheap, drivers quick, roads wide. I think you can really tell a lot about a city by its taxis. Anyhow, it's an incredible place, absolutely huge, and just packed with people. The Forbidden City is north across a 6 or so lane road (the one where the guy stood down the tank) from Tien'an Men, so I just did a long, sweeping glance over the square then ducked into the city walls. Not without stopping for some pics with the giant Mao portrait, mind you.
We took the main route north, stopping at Starbucks (inside in the fucking Forbidden City) and the imperial gardens, and back around the outside west then south. We left the hotel around 8 a.m., and it was creeping up on noon by the time we made our way back to the main road. I bought a tourist map and we found Peking Duck Street. Seriously, that's what the map said. It was pretty close, so...when in Rome...eat Peking duck.
The map and my ever-present compass led us south past the square and into a more gritty, real Beijing. We were looking for a restaurant one of the girls we met had heard of. Appearently it was world-renowned, and she'd visited the city before but didn't get to go there. Considering its prestige and size, it seemed rather out-of-the-way and hard to find. It was, of course, well worth it. Like my trip to Hong Kong, my pleasure with this bonus holiday was in the food. I wanted nothing more than to gorge on authentic Peking duck. So famous was the place, that the walls were covered with pictures of visiting dignitaries. Particularly of note, were George Bush Sr. and Fidel Castro. I can only assume they came on different days. Also, Yanni.
And what of the people? Having some personal contact with the Chinese in their natural habitat (at least the Beijing variety), I've come to understand them a little more. It seems to me that when you live in Beijing, and you have an opinion, it is your right and duty to express said opinion at any time, to any person, whom you feel worthy of hearing it. I don't know if they're so much arguing as just saying how they feel, but everyone yells at everyone all the time there. And they ignore each other like champions. Maybe that's why they took to communism; everyone can complain about what they want, but no one gets anything.
Part 2: Beijing?
Off to Thailand....or was I?
Life on the cheap as it is, I went to Thailand via the least expensive route; that being Air China. The flight was Osaka to Beijing then to Bangkok. There was, however, a typhoon in Beijing. We ended up stuck on the runway in some small north China airport for 4 hours until the storm passed. Of course, that meant we missed our connecting flight. Which left my girlfriend and I stranded in the capital of China.
It was great.
To be sure, dealing with Chinese customs officials was a hassle (Beijing has a long way to go before they're ready to host the olympics). But the airline gave us a free stay in a rather nice hotel, and being non-Chinese made us easy to pick out for the other non-Chinese on the same flight. We ended up meeting a good slew of multinationals leaving Japan and a couple Japanese, all on the way to Thailand. Establishing the common connection, we braved the Beijing airport and secured our lodgings. Since we would still have the next day to kill before our flight, we all arranged to meet in the morning and do some sightseeing.
What followed was a rather quick tour of the high points of a really fascinating city. The must see, of course, was the Forbidden City and Tien'an Men Square. Easy enough to get there, the taxis were cheap, drivers quick, roads wide. I think you can really tell a lot about a city by its taxis. Anyhow, it's an incredible place, absolutely huge, and just packed with people. The Forbidden City is north across a 6 or so lane road (the one where the guy stood down the tank) from Tien'an Men, so I just did a long, sweeping glance over the square then ducked into the city walls. Not without stopping for some pics with the giant Mao portrait, mind you.
We took the main route north, stopping at Starbucks (inside in the fucking Forbidden City) and the imperial gardens, and back around the outside west then south. We left the hotel around 8 a.m., and it was creeping up on noon by the time we made our way back to the main road. I bought a tourist map and we found Peking Duck Street. Seriously, that's what the map said. It was pretty close, so...when in Rome...eat Peking duck.
The map and my ever-present compass led us south past the square and into a more gritty, real Beijing. We were looking for a restaurant one of the girls we met had heard of. Appearently it was world-renowned, and she'd visited the city before but didn't get to go there. Considering its prestige and size, it seemed rather out-of-the-way and hard to find. It was, of course, well worth it. Like my trip to Hong Kong, my pleasure with this bonus holiday was in the food. I wanted nothing more than to gorge on authentic Peking duck. So famous was the place, that the walls were covered with pictures of visiting dignitaries. Particularly of note, were George Bush Sr. and Fidel Castro. I can only assume they came on different days. Also, Yanni.And what of the people? Having some personal contact with the Chinese in their natural habitat (at least the Beijing variety), I've come to understand them a little more. It seems to me that when you live in Beijing, and you have an opinion, it is your right and duty to express said opinion at any time, to any person, whom you feel worthy of hearing it. I don't know if they're so much arguing as just saying how they feel, but everyone yells at everyone all the time there. And they ignore each other like champions. Maybe that's why they took to communism; everyone can complain about what they want, but no one gets anything.
posted by Nick at 7:16 AM
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