From the southern to the northern hemisphere
Trip Start
Oct 14, 2005
1
Trip End
Ongoing
Beijing, China
Sunday, October 15, 2006
In order to stop-over in Spore/JB during our return trip, we chose to fly with SIA. From Sydney, we travel to Spore and spend almost 4 hours in the very spacious airport shopping town. Spore airport has the best duty free shopping we know of - big in selection (from the highly priced brands to just basic staples) and size (many many shops...). The best bit of the airport (besides the free local calls!) is the foot massage!!!! At every corner there are foot massage machines for passengers to enjoy - the squeezing and pounding of your feet after a 7 hours' flight is more than luxury ;) On our landing in Spore I was telling James that I craved for a bed - unless you fly business/first class, air travel is not the most enjoyable time, though there are about 50 movies to choose from, after 4 movies in a row you do not really get to appreciate this entertainment anymore.
We took off in the wee hours of the morning for Beijing, by then we were desperate to get back on the plane and hoping to get some sleep. I asked for an eye shade and tucked myself away until breakfast was served at 5am....... *I need a bed*
Beijing is hazy looking and according to James, it hasn't changed much. There's not much traffic until we hit the central district, where the train station is and where we are staying for 3 nights. We took a bus from the airport to the train station, where we catch a cab to the hostel. Initially I was keen to rent a bicycle to experience being a real Beijing-er for a while, but since the cab trip to the hostel, I know it's wiser to stay with public transport and on foot, no matter how keen I am to be a local.
We are now waiting for our room to be ready, then we'll at least get a glimpse of this "mysterious" room - the comments on the internet is pretty mixed so we're keen to find out ;)
