The blog in which words are used to describe activities

So, we’re in Beijing. I’m writing this blog knowing that I won’t be able to post it until after we leave China as the website is censored and we can’t get to it to upload anything. Or even to read it. Shame- we’re losing a potential audience of, like, 2 billion Chinese…

Also- after spending a week in Beijing, I’ve titled the blog in honour of the exceptional names they give things here: “Pavilion of the Mountain Scene and the Water Brilliance” and “Gate Tower of Cloud Retaining Eaves” and “Scenic Area of Pictures of Farming and Weaving” for example.

Anyway, we arrived in Beijing after flying from Cape Town (via Dubai, via Johannesburg). Two observations: firstly, the Dubai airport is extreme in all ways. Huge and busy. Secondly, the Airbus A380 (which we were lucky enough to fly on from Dubai) is the same- extreme, huge, and busy. I think there were nearly 500 people on the plane- enough to overfill two waiting gates before boarding.

We were in Cape Town for 5 days and it’s really not enough to experience the city and outlying areas. It’s beautiful there- aesthetically it’s a lot like Vancouver- a gorgeous sea front, a back drop of amazing mountains, and a vibrant city centre. But peeling back the first layer reveals things that aren’t like Vancouver at all- locked gates on the front of all residences, sprawling shanty towns (townships) on the outskirts of the city (home to over 1 million people), “No Guns” signs at parks and beaches, and a distinct difference between the colour of those employed in the “service” jobs and those employed elsewhere. Not to say Vancouver is, by any means, perfect (many of you know my less than favourable opinion of the city) but I did definitely feel an affectionate pull toward “home”.

We did all the regular touristy stuff while there- a trip up the cable car to the top of Table Mountain (next time we’re there, we’ll hike up for sure, and leave the freezing cold flip flops at home), a boat trip to Robben Island to visit Mandela’s cell (a packaged tour that leaves you wanting more, but the only option to get there), a wander around Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden (billed as the most beautiful garden in the world, and it‘s certainly up there), and a walking tour around some of the historic district (slave trees, museums discussing apartheid, the City Hall where Mandela made his first public address after his release, etc etc). We also rented a car and headed south to the Cape of Good Hope- an area that deserves far more than the half day we had. Again, next time, we’ll hike in the area for a couple of days- it’s so rugged and beautiful and deserves some foot on soil touring… Travel is so irritating in this way- you cross one thing off your list, and add two more to the bottom. It’s like at work, but more fun…

After our final dinner out as a four-some (actually, a five-some as we managed to reconnect with our Swedish friend Malin, from the overland tour) we awoke early to start the long trip home. Mum and Dad got the raw end of the deal there, having to spend 12 hours at the Johannesburg airport as our flight left far earlier than theirs…

Now, on the eve of our departure from Beijing, we’re excited to be actually starting the Trans-Mongolian train adventure that took 8 times longer to plan than it will to actually play out…

Upon our arrival here our first task was to obtain our Mongolian visas. Due to the logistical nightmare of planning visas for 3 months in the future, we could only secure a few of them from home, before our departure. This meant that we needed to get the Mongolia one while here, at the risk of all our onward travel plans falling apart if we were unsuccessful. On our first day, we arrived bright and early at the Embassy to find it… closed. Randomly closed on Sept 22. Turns out it was a national holiday- what luck. We returned the next day, bright and early, to find it… closed. Murder me. Apparently the opening hours alternate between morning and afternoon, and we were on an afternoon day. We returned later that day and, third try lucky, it was open. We grabbed the forms to fill out in line and immediately cursed our idiocy as we scanned the forms to see the information we needed- address and phone numbers of place of work, names and contact info of destination in Mongolia, etc… We’ve only filled out one zillion of these forms, and have needed the exact information every time, but were we prepared on that day? Nope. In front of us people had their plastic folders full of all their details and paperwork with post-it notes and tabs and paperclips. We had a single pen. Anyway, we fumbled through the forms, filled out random information for anything we didn’t know, and felt confident that they’d take our money nonetheless. We returned the following day to find we were, indeed, successful. Finally all the chips were in place and we could get on with it.

Despite the immense fun of visiting the Mongolian Embassy, we managed to find time to hit most of Beijing’s main sights. Our first stop was Tian’anmen Square which is actually nothing more than an enormous square that swarms with people (particularly on national holidays). You could, of course, go visit Mao if you were so inclined - but we weren’t. We wandered around the city and visited a park that afforded quite a nice view over the Forbidden City, and then wandered further to the Drum Tower- a large tower full of 24 (?) drums that were beaten to convey the time to the nearby Bell Tower, which houses the bell which then conveys the time to the rest of the city. Why two towers? To show power and wealth, of course. We enjoyed a drum performance where 5 young men beat the tar out of the drums for a while in a display that had nothing to do with telling the time.

After our first day here our feet were feeling the effects of no longer having a vehicle- perhaps finally I can walk off a few pounds!

We took a trip to the Olympic area to see the Birds Nest and Watercube- both of which are cool up close, but it’s interesting to see the “polish” that’s missing when you’re actually there in person. The space though, including the causeway between them, is huge and amazing- and still full of people- it felt busier there on a random day than anywhere in Vancouver even DURING our Olympics…

We also took trips to the Temple of Heaven (a large park with a bunch of buildings and even more people), the Forbidden City (the largest cluster of ancient and preserved buildings in all of China), and the Summer Palace (a huge park and lake that was the summer retreat for the Emperor, and is littered with spectacular buildings). For me, personally, Chinese architecture starts to wear thin after a while. Perhaps it’s more the crowds (which are about as spectacular as the buildings) but I have a limited life span at these places. Unfortunately it’s about 2 hours shorter than Cam’s… :)

The piece de resistance, as you might have expected, was our trip to the Great Wall. Originally we’d planned on visiting a less touristy section of the wall, and hiking 10km to another less touristy section. Unfortunately, some research the night before taught us that one of the two sections was closed, making the hike impossible. So we opted for a third section instead and set off on the bus for a 2.5 hour trip. Too cheap to pay for the cable car, we hiked our way up the mountain to the wall, and then spent 3 hours walking the 2.5km section from end to end, and back again. It was really quite gorgeous- sort of exactly what you picture, but still breathtaking when you’re actually there. Similar to Nepal, when you take something of physical/architectural beauty, and slap it in the middle of a stunning environment, it’s hard to beat.

Overall our time in Beijing has been great. Other than the actual sights, here are some Beijing observations:

1. The metro: It costs about 30 cents to ride it anywhere you want, with infinite transfers across its 13 lines, for unlimited time. You must scan (airport xray style) your bag every time you enter a station but there will be a staff of at least 6 people assisting you if you need. The crowds are formidable- during busy times (all the time) you may need to brace your hands against the door and push with your rear end to cram people deeper into the train to claim your own space. Personal space will be invaded. Learn to love it.
2. The no-queue is a good-queue system: People here do not line up. Ever. If you don’t allow yourself to get mad, or to get walked on, the system is fine. Get your hand in there, get your body in there, show them you can play too, and you’ll be fine.
3. English: There is almost no English here. Shockingly little, actually. The word “Coke” at a restaurant is met with a blank stare. Once you realize they are not given the opportunity to learn English in their schools (like everywhere else in the world) you have a little more patience for those at home who are struggling in an English speaking country.
4. Cleanliness: It is clean in Beijing. I don’t know what we expected, but it wasn’t this. It’s not so much that people don’t litter, it’s that for every one who does, there are 3 more whose job it is to clean up their mess.
5. People volume: There are a lot of people here. 16 million, according to the Lonely Planet. They all ride the metro, and most of them visit the tourist sights, which is perhaps the biggest surprise of all. For some reason I didn’t know there would be Chinese tourists in China… But there are. Hordes of them. Usually in tour groups wearing the same coloured hat, following behind a lady with a flag and a megaphone.

Anyway, apologies for the length of this one but Facebook is banned and there’s no better way to kill time at the moment :)

On to Mongolia…
Until next time,
K and C.