Day 4: Miss Beijing

Sunday 13 July, 2008

Today was a BOCOG tour day, which we spent following an ex Miss Beijing (also known as Cloud Cloud, Cloud 9 or Debbie). We took the tour bus to the Old Summer Palace where we followed Miss Beijing around all day in the heat.

We then went to the New Summer Palace for lunch and they treated us like crap. It was an ok lunch but they forced it down our throats and then got us out of there as quick as they could. I asked to take a photo of one of the waitresses (as they were dressed in traditional costume) but she got really angry at me and shook her head!! Talk about cranky.

We then got to wander around some of the Summer Palace, which is an amazing garden maintained by around 10 000 gardeners! It was absolutely incredible. We climbed the Incense Tower where the Emperor and Empress lived during the summer months and we walked around the lake taking in all the scenery. What we saw was about one third of what the garden had to offer. You could spend a whole day or two just wandering around in there.

We then stuffed ourselves some more at a mediocre restaurant. It was probably one of the worst meals we’ve had. A few people are feeling sick after that meal so hopefully nothing will happen to me. We’ve all been pretty lucky so far.

After dinner we sat through the Peking Opera. I’ve never heard anything like it in my life. Paul was given 5 VIP tickets and then the rest for everyone else, so he drew 4 room cards out of a hat and I happened to be one of them! I never win anything so it was a massive surprise. Down the front you couldn’t really see the English translation, but apparently one of the English translation screens read “Shut your month!” As a visual experience, the colour was spectacular, if only they would shut up! Someone said they sounded like cats doing… well you don’t need to know. I’m buggered now and its going to be a big day tomorrow – the Great Wall!

Day 3: Towers and Tiananmen

Saturday 12 July, 2008

The sun was out and the sky was blue, apparently all the pollution had come down after the rain and it was absolutely amazing. If only Beijing could be like this all the time. The weather was bearable, much like an Aussie summer, with a tad more humidity.

Today we got on the bus and headed into the city for the Newcastle Alumni Lunch. The meal was so tasty, hen hao che! Everything was great and I am getting much better at using chopsticks.

After the lunch we went to the Drum Tower and Bell Tower which are the towers which woke the people of China of a morning. They have been rebuilt but are in the same position as they have been for hundreds of years. The stairs were really steep and slippery but the view from the top was well worth the effort. We even got to see them play the drums.

Paul then decided that those who wanted to go back on the bus could and those who wanted to explore Beijing a bit more could do what they wanted. We decided that since we were near the city we would go and visit Tiananmen Square. We took a taxi, but he dropped us off at the Forbidden City instead! It was too late to go in there as it was about to close so we caught another cab to the right destination. What a rip! I was with Steven, Pippa, Brooke, Em, Liz, Amanda, Lester, Lucas, Josh, Marie and Abby. Steven also made friends with a Chinese guy who we named Freddie since he didn’t have an English name. Freddie was lovely and was happy to take us around and show us the sights. He even took about ten pictures of us in front of Chairman Mao’s red building, which quickly drew a crowd.

Chairman Mao’s resting place was closed but we still walked around and were reminded of the day that thousands of students died on the very ground we stood on. While we were there, we were somewhat a spectacle. It seemed that every Chinese person wanted to take a picture of us, and we were asked by several if they could have their photo with us. It was a bit crazy. Every time we turned around there was someone else taking a picture.

We decided we would give the subway a go to get back, and it ended up being pretty damn easy. For 2 RMB you could catch the subway anywhere you wanted. All the trains were lovely and clean, and on the new ones the windows flashed with Olympic advertising! Crazy!

That night we had dinner at the Stairway to Love (or Lurrrrve as everyone likes to say). I hate to say it but I had pizza. I was hanging out for a greasy meal! The people there were so nice, which seems to be a bit of a dichotomy in China. Either they love you or they hate you. I’ve had both, and I don’t really understand what I’ve done for either.

Day 2: Meeting Aussies in China

Friday 11 July, 2008

Jet lag is still a problem today, every time I get off the lift I feel as if I’m floating for a minute. I spent a long time in bed just trying to feel rejuvenated, but eventually I decided to get up and try and explore some o Beijing. I opened my curtains to find that Beijing was overcast (with cloud and pollution) and raining – a crappy day. I also noticed on the way down today that each day the cleaners change the mat in the lift to say the day of the week =). Lester, Brooke, Em, Liz, Manda and I all decided it might be a good idea to check out some markets before we were due back at the Uni for BOCOG duties, but by the time we walked to the front of the Uni and tried to get a taxi we realised it was just all too hard and we wouldn’t have nearly enough time.

Instead we wandered out the back of the Uni to take a look down Public Toilet Avenue – nicknamed for a very good reason. While walking down the lane we witnessed a young boy (about three) squatting to do a #2 right there on the street. I must say it is nothing I have ever witnessed before, and it seemed to be quite acceptable here. On top of that, it smells as if the whole neighbourhood has been doing the exact same thing as the little boy. After walking around for a while trying to forget what we had seen, we decided Yum Cha at the bakery was the way to go for a quick breakfast.

We went back to the Uni where we were marshaled in the foyer to go to the Australian Embassy. It was definitely the most dressed up everyone has been so far, and probably is the most dressed up every one will be for a while. We were greeted by an Aussie guy, and it was a bit of a relief to hear someone else from our country speak. I hadn’t realised until that moment that I had not seen any ‘Western’ people in our area at all (except those from Newcastle).

For dinner, BOCOG put on a feast at a Peking Duck Restaurant in downtown Beijing. I didn’t really want to eat a lot of meat so I said I was vegetarian. Little did I know that that meant I was to be uprooted from my table with all my friends and taken to the other side of the room (a long way away) to the vegetarian table. Err! Many jokes were made, but time went fast and we had a pretty good night despite being segregated. The food was amazing and the only bad thing about the night was that we had to wait for it for so long because all the Americans, English and Queenslanders were still on their bus tour of the sewage works (where we should have been, but we went to the Embassy instead).

That night a shadow was cast though, because I was informed by friends that one of my close school mates had been killed in a motorcycle accident the previous night. I must say though, that while I cried that night, I just can’t feel what I need to feel here, as in Beijing nothing from home seems real. The funeral is on Wednesday so I guess I will have to wait until I get back before I can say goodbye.

Day 1: Beijing 101

Thursday 10 July, 2008
Today I:
1. Walked to the supermarket and found lots of interesting goodies, lychees included. The smog is incredible, almost as amazing as the humidity. I have had about 3 showers today and I’m ready for another one.
2. Locked myself out of my room
3. Got an internet connection which made my life MUCH better – it is absolutely amazing how much my life revolves around the internet
4. Got in contact with my family and friends, thank goodness. I think I was about to go mad with homesickness
5. Found out I am working at BUAA on Weightlifting!!! Yay!!! It turns out my area is a bit of a bludge so I will have lots of free time for sightseeing and shopping. Huzzah!
6. Had a tour of BFSU and the surrounding area, where we found the American Island – an all you can eat and drink buffet of everything imaginable and many things beyond your imagination. Kind of gross really, but I ate a cricket. It was crunchy and tasted like burnt pepper. I also drank some Beijing Beer, which is amazing. Really, really good beer which comes in oversized bottles and is 8% alcohol. They also had a live crocodile in a cage, just to prove their produce is fresh and juicy.
7. Went to bed sufficiently tipsy and with a full belly of lots of unknown delicious and not-quite-so-delicious delights.

In Transit

Wednesday 9 July, 2008 finally came around, a day that I had been anticipating for many months now. The evening before was supposed to be a relaxed one; I had travelled down to Sydney to see my boyfriend before I left and was spending my last night eating pizza (who knows when I would see that delicious food group again) and watching The Last Emperor to get me in the mood for China. We went to bed early with the intention of having a full night’s sleep before we got up at 4:45am to embark on the long journey. But our relaxing night’s sleep was interrupted by a possum on the roof wanting some warmth from the winter cold. Ah well, I guess I was restless anyway.

After a mediocre night’s sleep we got up before the crack of dawn and made our way via train to the airport. We ended up getting there early (along with most other people), which turned out to be very unnecessary. After waiting to check in, and holding up the line because we were too early to check in, we finally got through and made our way to get some food into our starving bellies. Breakfast, although it was pretty ordinary, went down a treat.

Not long after, as I was getting ready to say goodbye to my boyfriend, we were informed by some others in the group that the flight had been delayed from 10:10 to 12:10. We said our goodbyes then anyway, and I went through Customs with the idea that I would just shop for a while. As 12:10 approached though, we were then informed that the flight time was now to be 1:10 and the gate had changed from 53 to 31, which involved a bus trip to get back. Excellent. To save the sorry details of our shopping, lunch, shopping, sit and talk time, I will just tell you that we did a lot more of that as not long after we were told the flight was now due to leave at 2:20!

Four hours of delays just put us in a bad mood, and by the time I got on the plane I wanted to be there already. This mood wasn’t helped by the fact that my Video On Demand didn’t work the entire flight! Argh! Luckily Lauren was lovely enough to share with me, otherwise I think I might have gone crazy.

After 11 long hours of flying we finally arrived at Beijing Airport, where of course, my bag was the LAST to come off the turnstile. As you can imagine after the last episode with bags, I was getting a little fretful by that stage! On the way from the airport to the uni we passed the Bird’s Nest, and although everyone was well and truly buggered by that stage, we all had a sigh of awe left in us.

But now I’m here, in room 1208 at Beijing Foreign Studies University, a lovely little room with wooden floors and furniture and a very hard bed. It is around 3am Aussie time, and I am definitely feeling it. This morning, I looked out the window, but smog was all I was greeted by. I miss my family and friends already and I’m beginning to think seven weeks here is going to be a challenge, but a fun one. It looks like Beijing is going to be like nothing else… I hope I’m up to it.