Well, what’s left to do in Beijing? Quite a lot really, and what I would like is to return and spend more time just wandering through the hutongs, taking the underground and buses to various places, exploring in a rickshaw. If I ever return to China, it will have to be as a lone traveller,Continue reading “Beijing again – and bye-bye!”
Tag Archives: China
Walking the Walk
Well, two walks actually. On the road to Beijing we stopped at Badaling to walk along (part of) the Great Wall, and then went on to the site of the Ming Tombs and walked along the avenue depicting various animals. First the walk on the wall at Badaling, just 70km outside Beijing. Until you’ve actuallyContinue reading “Walking the Walk”
Back to the border – Datong
May 2nd Back on the coach with our guides, Gary and An, and heading off to Datong, with two stops on the way. We passed through Datong on the Trans-Siberian (Mongolian…Manchurian) train some days…weeks? ago, and here we are heading north again. The countryside is beautiful, we drive through valleys with terraced hills on eitherContinue reading “Back to the border – Datong”
Pingyao!
Pronounced like a bullet ricocheting around your ears… An absolute jewel of a place – severe dust-coloured city walls enclosing a bustling rabbit warren of streets and lanes. We were taken by coach from Xian to the outskirts of Pingyao where we met An, our new guide from here to Datong, his hometown. We seemedContinue reading “Pingyao!”
The Last Train in China – off to Xian
Well, not really, just the last train I’m taking this trip. The station we left from in Beijing is really state of the art – probably beautified specially for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. We were able to wait in the mothers and children waiting room – either on account of the aged mothers amongstContinue reading “The Last Train in China – off to Xian”
Beijing: A day to explore….
So lovely to wake up naturally, with no alarm to get you on a train or a coach on time. This was a splendid day – sometimes you just need one where you ramble around aimlessly and rest mind and body. And this was quite aimless, spent in local streets looking at shops, buying theContinue reading “Beijing: A day to explore….”
Arrival in Beijing…..and the mad day that followed
After a trek from the station to the awaiting bus, we were off to our hotel: King’s Joy Hotel. Lovely twin bedded rooms – I shared with Pat – a great bar on the top floor, internet access at last! and laundry. What more do you need? We had the rest of the day –Continue reading “Arrival in Beijing…..and the mad day that followed”
Last Lap to Beijing
Please ignore the strange numbers and notes at the start of paragraphs; they are to help me identify photos to add when I can get uninterrupted wifi access. This was the last part of the Trans-Siberian (Trans-Mongolian…Trans-Manchurian) rail journey, from Moscow to Beijing. Having experienced the Russian part of the trip, then the short bitContinue reading “Last Lap to Beijing”
Patamateria 