So we arrived at the crack of dawn in beijing into a busy station with a taxi queue about 3 miles long. not the most promising way to start. we were also wary of being ripped off by the drivers. As it turned out, the line lasted about 5 mins and the taxi cost about $3. so much for my negative impression.

After checking into the hotel real early we got a taxi to the GreatWall. Couldnt believe it. i was on my way to the great wall of china. Holy cow, thats a big place to visit. up there with, i don't know, Antarctica, Ayers rock and other really famous but distant spots. Its right in the middle of the countryside, surrounded by big hills and mountains covered in deep forest. the distant areas were covered in mist so it looked all mystical (no pun intended at all, its just the best word i could think of.) I got the chance to walk where thousand of soldiers had fought the mongols about 700 years ago. quite an impressive feeling. I did not see one single wild panda though. so i asked for my money back...(i didnt really)

Looking around the forbidden city and tianenmon square was great. people coming up to me and wanting their photo taken with me. i felt a bit special, but its hard to smile when you are sweating non stop. My goal was to get a photo taken standing next to a soldier but wasnt sure if they were a tourist attraction like the big hatted coldstream guards of London and i didn't wanna get myself slung in a chinese jail. i saw season 6 of 24 and jack bauer did not seem to enjoy it and he is much tougher than me...

The forbidden city was awesome. Absolutely massive. Kinda makes you realize that USA,UK etc isnt /wasnt the center of the universe after all. I think the entire forbidden city was bigger than London was when it was built. and it was all just for one guy. lucky bastard. we all have 50m2 apartments in Tokyo and he gets an entire city. Guess it pays to be an emperor. I need to get me an empire...In due course, im gonna put my photos of the city up so you can see what im talking about.

all in all Beijing sightseeing was great. As for the food it was a mixed bag. On the train the noodles tasted like glue and the soup was maybe washing up water. the staff wanted us to leave so they could talk about whatever it was they were chirruping on about. Also got a spicy dish full of chicken bones. I aint a fan of eating the bones of dead animals. dont know why, just makes me feel kinda sick. BUT did eat a full duck. A chef came and cut the head off, sliced the meat, offered us the brains. When i upload the photos i will add a picture of the ducks head.

So, we had to then get out of Beijing to go to Mongolia. I was expecting to be put on a soviet era rust-box plane with holes in the windows and goats roaming the aisles. Then the storms started outside. Uh-oh were my exact words in my head. sometimes loudly sometimes quietly and sometimes i was so tired that i didnt care if the plane was lightning bolted out of the sky. But cos of the storm the plane was delayed for about 4 hours. 4 long boring hours. Its interesting how 13 hours on a train is fun but waiting for a quarter of that time in an airport is immensly rubbish. Especially when you have to watch some posh bint trying on fur coats and stuff brought to her by servants.

So next stop Ulan Bator as the plane finally takes off. It wasnt a dangerous airplane at all, in fact. It was kinda nice albeit i had no space at all and my face was crushed aginst the seat of the woman reclining in front. She had a tiny baby and i didnt have the heart to tell her that i would need reconstructive surgery if she didnt lean forwards soon...luckily it only costs a couple of pennies to get plastic surgery done by some quack in Mongolia so all is well again. Should have got a tummy tuck though..

written by  adamski752 on August 25, 2008 from Beijing, China
from the travel blog: Adam's Leisurely Return Home
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I've been to the Great Wall twice and the second time was still amazing. For some reason, I was also expecting wild pandas. I don't know about you but when I first stepped into China, I expected to see Pandas everywhere...well, wherever I thought was wild enough for them to have pandas. I do acknowledge that they are endangered but, still. That time back in May when I came to Tokyo, before I wanted to go to Sichuen to see pandas...smart move that I didn't go...the earthquake happened right at the time I could have gone there...

written by  roberta on September 10, 2008

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