Nothing like being in Asia to spend a little time to visit the area ...
Thursday, October 5, 2006 Marion and I are parts of our own for four days in Beijing. With only the plane and hotel reservations, we discovered a growing city where bikes abound the streets, pollution hides the sun, counterfeiting is inevitable ... but the important is that the Chinese love the French!
Emotion 1: size!
Beijing is a city where everything is to size "communist". 8-way streets, a 10th under construction device, temples and gardens of sight, the Chinese surplus, buses of tourists every street ....
Tiananmen Square is covered with families where children proudly waving their national flag, mothers watching their toddlers, tourists mitraillent photos, guards maintain order and supervise the body of Mao.
While the infrastructure is great, but I must say that the Chinese are small! The average size of a girl Hong Kong is 1m58! So do not tell me I am small, please! (Is not Juline !!!!!!!)
Emotions 2: sputum, rudeness
I must admit that the Chinese are generally the opposite of elegance. They eat to 3 inches of their bowls sucking spaghetti, they get others in the subway without worrying about politeness, they spit everywhere by scraping the throat before. So do not blame me if I'm bad habits back to France! lol
Emotion 3: dirt
Beijing is a city in full construction: expansion roads, creation of new lines, construction of sports complexes for the 2008 Olympics, creation of new hotels, renovating historic buildings for the Olympics (the 3 main temples of the Imperial City, for example !)... If you intend to visit Beijing, just after 2008, you can enjoy a whole new city!
Emotion 4: English (and the Great Wall)
student in Hong Kong, sometimes I feel some difficulty in understanding the university students because of the accent or the lack of vocabulary. But in Beijing, nobody or very few people speak English! Therefore trade were not always very clear. Before leaving for our excursions, Marion and I asked at reception we write our routes in Chinese to make themselves understood. But sometimes we had a few surprises!
To go to the Great Wall, we took a bus with the locals. Unfortunately this bus was not going to the place you want (the Great Wall at Mutianyu) but stopped before. We had to take a "mini bus" and we were left alone with the driver. We arrived safely to and have greatly appreciated the views of the "Great Wall". This part of the wall is less touristy than Badaling. The wall was So for us alone. Too bad the pollution of Beijing cover the landscape so beautiful and hilly.
Emotion 5: overemployment
We learn that the Chinese will become the world's largest economy? There is still work to do ... ! They are each 2 people to do the same work: 2 people for the same case for selling subway tickets, 2 people at the subway entrance for us to take the ticket (because there is no magnetic card here), then 2 people at the doors of the subway .... nothing?!? maybe just check if everything goes well!
Do not talk to the restaurant for us each table to have 2 servers + 1 + 2 Ushers people to rid ... Then I congratulated us, us French (and others if you read french), our productivity!
Emotion 6: taxi speed =?
Marion and I have traveled a few times by taxi. No, these are not the costs established in France! The cost of living is much lower. (See next emotion)
Thus, taxis do not drive too fast ... but rolling anyhow! Duplicates with the right! Duplicates the left! Accelerate even if the light is red! Klaxonnons ever! ... is worse than the big 8!
Emotion 7: purchasing power ... the french!
You want examples? 15 min taxi
= 1 € 1 bus ride
= 10 cents
a subway ride = 30 cents
a very good restaurant (duck!) = 12 €
1 entry to the Forbidden City
€ = 2 1 small lunch at the hotel (buffet!) = 1.5 €
But there are also tourist traps when prices are too high! So beware!
Emotion 8: Stars for a day!
During our trip we met some tourists mainly retirees, or premises with children at young ages because of school holidays. Marion and I were then "Mars" for these people! In addition to snapping photos of monuments from all angles, we had to ask a dozen times with foreigners (Japanese, Korean) or local! We should have asked for compensation!
Emotion 9: chopsticks
You can not eat with chopsticks? You just take it! And yes, I became the "pro" chopsticks. Nothing scares me: rice, spaghetti, but meat ...
Emotion 10: Peking duck
I want more! As of today, I think I've ever had as good a dish in China. The cook cut the duck comes in 120 pieces before us, we then savor a slice of pancake with a piece of lettuce, sauce, cucumber and skin of duck: a treat! and stuff with chopsticks please!
Emotion 11: Lonely Planet!
Now I would like to thank Lonely Planet for its advice and practical tips. With this guide, we discovered
-
Forbidden City - Tiananmen Square
- the night market Donghuamen
- the neighborhood Salitun
-
the Great Wall - Ming Tombs
- a Peking Opera
- restaurants and lacquered ducks
- the Summer Palace (Palace Sumer)
- the former summer palace (Old Summer Palace)
- The Moselle
Mao - The entrance doors on Tiananmen
- the monument to the people
- Beihai Park
- tea house
- shopping street of Wangfujing
....
Emotion 12: Poverty
The Chinese are easily handle, sell or swap some items found, move by bike ... this poverty is touching and sometimes even offensive. And besides that, I'm not even gone to the West China where urbanization is unknown!
Emotion 13: Beijing 2008
At the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, in stores, on the black market ... are sold throughout the 5 layers of the Olympics 2008! A countdown was launched in Tiananmen Square. Nobody can ignore the event.
Emotion 14: THRILLED!
Admittedly a little short, but these 4 days of travel were a pure Chinese cultural bathing. I recommend this trip!
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