Beijing Hotels
|
First day in China
Entry 1 of 1 | show all | print this entry |
|
Arrived on evening of Sept 19th, off an Air-China flight straight to the chaotically lined up taxis picking up passengers to the city. Originally booked the Park Plaza Wangfujing, but upon arrival the hotel was fully booked. Feeling dejected, the concierge told me that I would have to stay at their sister hotel, the Regent which was right next to it - assuring me that it was really nice. It turns out, the fella wasn't lying at all. The room was large and great view to the bustling streets below.
The next morning, decided to see some sights around Beijing. Armed with a mandarin phrasebook, I caught a cab to what was meant to be Summer Palace, ended up being at Jingshan Park. From that moment onwards, there were more of pointing at maps than risk testing my beginner Mandarin. Entering from the eastern side, the park looks like any other 'chinese gardens' you've seen in other parts of the world. Feeling quite adventurous, I decided to venture off onto some rocky trails found behind green cypress trees leading up to a summit where a pavilion
offered 360 degree views of the city. There I managed to score a distant glimpse of the Forbidden City, which I planned to visit with Busara the next day.
I didn't stay there very long - soon found myself on my way to Summer Palace, no mistakes this time.
Its a very large garden that houses almost anything you expect to see in a royal garden. I crossed cobbled bridges, ferried across a large lake, and aimlessly explored the compounds from wall to wall that surrounds the central palace building.
Go to the Suzhou market exit, found a cab and headed back to the city. Caught a quick glimpse of the olympic site and the massive birds nest across the highway
but regrettably didn't make a detour for a visit.
Spent the rest of the afternoon & evening in the Wangfujing shopping district, eating, bargaining and like all other tourists standing nearby, inspecting the somewhat edible looking skewers of various bugs & other exotics.
Cabbed back to the airport to pick up B late at night - otherwise she would not have known that I had changed hotels!
|
|
If you like this entry, search for other entries from China or try a new search. |
| |
Back to Entry - Back to Home
|
