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Trip Start Feb 26, 2007 Previous
Entry Trip End Jun 16, 2007

  Doncaster, United Kingdom
Monday, June 18, 2007

The Great Wall trip had been such a success that I could now relax as anything else was a bonus...

I walked for miles and miles on Friday, exploring the city as much as possible, beginning with a trip to the imposing Forbidden City. I was a little underwhelmed by this place though as it all looked pretty similar, and there was a lot of construction work going on, presumably in preparation for next years Olympics. The view of the City from a lookout in Jingshan Park should have been stunning, but the scaffolding and dull air (despite it being another clear day) meant that I didn't even bother getting my camera out...

Much more enjoyable was a walk I did around Beihai Lake which was both relaxing and hawker-free! There weren't that many westerners there and so I received plenty of stares which were less subtle than in Japan. with people straining their necks to get a glimpse and not being bothered in the slightest when I made eye contact with them.

The people of Beijing certainly seemed quite straightforward, with no messing about, whether it be men spitting out greenies everywhere, women picking their noses on the subway, or both sexes blatantly pushing in front of you when queueing up for tickets or food. I'd heard some people (though they were certainly in the minority) say that the Chinese are incredibly friendly, but part of my definition of "friendly" includes the ability to show good manners, and it is no excuse to simply say that it is "their culture" - rudeness is rudeness.

To be fair though, I was asked for a photograph on numerous occasions, and people would often come up and talk to me, though I even viewed this with suspicion as I'd heard about scams where you are befriended by a couple of Chinese female "students," and coincidentally I encountered a few of these all asking the same questions...they'll have a field day when the Olympics come to town!

Anyway I've dwelled on the negative side of Beijing for long enough now, so I'll end it by simply stating that it isn't a patch on Tokyo where the people are polite and the air is clear - see my pictures from Tokyo Tower for proof of the latter.

By Saturday, I was accustomed to dealing with hawkers (a firm "no" usually did the trick) and the metro system was a breeze to use and so cheap, so I had a lovely day mooching around, beginning with a visit to the Lama Temple. This was a very impressive complex of temples with various huge Buddha statues hidden inside, and it reminded me of Nikko in many ways. It was here that I sat down for a while to read my guidebook, looking up once to see a video camera about twelve inches away from my nose! I was a little surprised, but this kind of curiosity is completely understandable and I don't mind it in the slightest, and I ended up posing for a photograph with the guy's arm wrapped firmly around me.

My favourite sight in Beijing itself was the Temple of Heaven Park, a huge park that was home to some remarkable structures. The highlight was definitely the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, a round three-tiered building that dated back to 1420, but the whole area was really peaceful and I spent a couple of hours just strolling around...

Tiananmen Square was an interesting place for a wander, and I visited quite a few times as I usually got off the subway at the adjoining Qianmen stop. There were quite a few soldiers marching around to make sure there was no trouble, and on one occasion I did spot some extrovert shouting and throwing leaflets around, but he was surrounded almost immediately and three police cars came within about ten seconds and he was bundled off somewhere, quick as a flash!

I spent my final day having a final look around, and spent a fair amount of time in and around Wangfujing Dajie, Beijing's main shopping street. I'm not one for souvenirs though, so the only thing that I actually bought was a Harry Potter book to keep me occupied on the flight home...

As it happened, I slept through my alarm the next morning after a late night, and was woken by the receptionist who told me that my taxi was waiting outside! Luckily I'd packed everything the night before, but rushing to get ready meant that I felt a bit groggy for the rest of the exceptionally long day (because of the seven hour time difference). The ten hour flight passed reasonably quickly though, and before I knew it I was back on home soil again...a nice feeling.

Needless to say, I filled up on Yorkshire Puddings and beans on toast in the proceeding days, and I also decided with absolute certainty that I will return to Japan in September to work for 3-6 months...can't wait!

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