Beijing more friendly

I'm still in Beijing and I feel much better here now. Even smog which makes the city depresive is not so annoying any more. It it annoying in respect to photo taking. All photos are blured and it looks like it is foggy.

Sightseeing is tirying, especially when it goes togehter with partying, but it is still ok. I've met some friends of mine and we had dinner in one of the chinese restaurants nearby my hostel. We've ordered so much food that we were not able to eat it all and we've paid only 40 RMB each. Sweet. I've treid around 10 different things, but I even do not know their names. but still, it was very tasty.

Next day I've went to buy tickets to Xi'an. It took me about 1h on the railway station, 3 different queues and 700 RMB to get return ticket to Xi'an from Beijing. I wanted hard sleepers, but on the way back I've managed to get soft sleeper only (or hard seat - that must be nightmare). I was told that I was lucky anyway. Usually you should book them 10 days in advance.

Next I went to see Olympic Stadium. Impressive. You can see that everything there is new. New tube, and new tube stations, new toilets, roads, parks. Bird's Nest (this is how stadium is called) is huge and can be entered only after buying a ticket and going through security check (same with the swimming pool), but I did not went to see that. Overview from outside was enough.

Olympic Stadium - Bird's Nest

brand new tube on the way to Olympic Stadium

Great Wall is also a must when you are in Beijing. I've been there yesterday with two Canadians. That was so much fun. We've taken bus 916 to from Dingzhimen to Huairou and there taxi to Huanghua. We even did not have to search for a cab. They've almost pulled us from the bus. After some bargaining we've managed to get a price of 150 RMB both ways. i.e. 25 each one way. Paid after service. So 75 and 75.

That part of the wall where we went was not very touristic one, but still we've met some ppl. Not many though. As we did not know which way to take to climb on the wall we've just entered through one of those towers, but we had to climb throught window which was blocked by someone with wooden logs (probably not to go in?). We've found out ehy it was blocked, when we've climbed to the top. It was destroyed and very steep, untill the next tower, where was the ladder for the official climb.

We've walked/climbed there and back, took a lot of pics and headed towards the road. And just at the exit/entrance we were attacked by old chinese woman shouting 2 Yuan, 2 Yuan. She wanted money from us. I dunno if legally or not. She was pushing and touching us and did not want to let us go. Finally we've paid but it was almost a fight. We've good video for that.

Great Wall of China - climbing through the window

Great Wall of China - hanging down from the tower

Great Wall of Chin

Greal Wall of China crew

Today is another day of not too much sightseeing. Yesterday was friday, so it's obvious why. Though not completly wasted, as I've seen NanLuogu Xiang (Hutong district, actually the same what we have near our hostel, but more for tourists, so nothing new for me). I prefer the small alley near hostel. It's more real.

Drum and Bell Towers (only from outside) and JingShan Park. Calm, smoggy day. The worst here since I've come.

Drum Tower

At the foot of Drumm and Bell Towers

Hutong lifestyle

Hutong

During that 6 days in Beijing I've made some observations. I did not know about some of the things before coming here. Noone told me and I've never read about it before, so:

• every day someone asks me for the photo, they want to have photo with me
• lions everywhere - on the left female lion with a small lion under her paw and on the right male with a ball. They are in froint of every entrance
• plastic foil hanging in open doors
• very expencive food/drinks in european/american chains (like Starbucks, KFC)
• KFC is on each corner
• chinese ppl always walk with their lunc in plasric bag. Every place is good to sit and eat. The same as every place is good for a little nap
• infants do not wear diapers, their trousers have hole there (isn't that too cold?)
• chinese woman wear leggins which immitate black tights on pale skin

Some negatives

• they try to sell everything to everyone and are very stubborn with that
• they do not understand any signs or when I shiw them something with my hands. Sometimes they start to shout at me. 
• noone who wants to get in the tube is not bothered about ppl who want to get out. They just push to get in even though not everyone who wanted left
• there is not vodka in supermarkets and my Zoladkowa Gorzka from Poland is finished
• smog
• chaos on the streets, it does not matter what light is, everyone just walks/drives/rides a bike
• everyone spits everywhere, with that loud sound hhhhrrrrrrrrrr

Some positives too

• very clean streets, swipped all day
• very cheap and very good food on the street (10RMB max)
• a lot of public toilets (of course squating ones and with baskets to throw away paper in there, what I alway forget. I just hope that I did not block any of them yet)
• bike paths on every street, wide as lines for the cars
  

  

  Lunch on the street

This is it, kids without diapers

One more interesiting thing in Beijing was house party where I was. One of Canadian girls stayig in the hostel met some american guys living in Beijing who were making party and inviting everyone, so it happened that we've ended there too. Very ok, but party almost died around 1, so we've come back to hostel which happened to be just around the corner from their apartment.

Beijing's firts impressions

Weekend before flying to Beijing was so hectic, goodbye party, packing, going to dermatologist, resting, confirming some plans, having goodbye part again, where I got panda baloon with request to take it back to China (thanks ladies!). Finally I went to the airport Flight from Warsaw to Moscow and later on to Beijing was ok, although I must say that I do not like Aeroflot. Flight attendants were not friendly, so harsh and I'd have to say unhelpful. What's more my seat was not the one that I've chosen when I checked in online and it was broken. Beijing welcomed me with good weather and Starbucks on the airpost. I was so thirsty, desperate for the coffee and hot that I had to get one of their frappucinos, which accompanied me on the train to Dongzhimen from where I had to take 20 min walk to get to hostel. First impression was not good: poverty, killers in the cars and on the bikes, smog, smell of urine in the entrance gate. Give it a chance, give it a chance, was the only thing on my mind. So the Hostel itself is ok, it's on the edge between poor and rich districts, but it's safe and clean. And fool of people. Mostly backpackers, but also ppl who work in some smaller (is 1,5 milion inhabitants smaller?) cities and come here to see Beijing, as there is national holiday rignt now (actually it's the last day). Luckily in my 10 dorm moone snores (or was i that tired last two nioghts that I did not simply hear it?) and luckily there are some people to talk and to do some sightseeing together. Most/all? of them in my dorm are traveling on their own, like me. 

small alley near hostel, hutong type where we used to get food. Very cheap and very tasty

 

food hygiene in China

 

entrance gate to hostel

 Yesterday I've seen Summer Palace

Summer Palace

Summer Palace -17 Arches Bridge

and today it was Forbiden City and Tian'anmen Square

Doing Nothing phrase written by one of the Emperors

Forbiden City

Forbiden City

In my opinion they are pretty the same and boring in the same way. Summer Palace is a little bit better cause it's on the suburbs and with less smog and more trees. For the Forbiden City it's only bricks and beton. I enjoy food a lot, yesterday I had kind of crepe with egg in it, soya sauce, pettersill and some restangle thing with bubbles. It looked like huge shrimp crisp but I guess it was not that. She's put it everything and rolled and gave me in a plastic bag and newspaper. Was gooood ;-) <photo> I did not know that that, they have maroni, but still my top maroni place is Zurich. After two daus of saty, making some friends, meeting two colleagues of mine who are traveling here as well I have better feelings for the city but still I cannot tell I love or even like it. It's ok, but nothing more.