A fabulous stopover trip to Beijing on the way back from Canada (5 days, July 2009)
I was happily surprised to see that the city was easy to explore for an experienced backpacker. Plus, the food was delicious, the streets were lined with trees and the Chinese people lovely -- shy, curious and friendly.
I could spend another week in Beijing easily - just further exploring all the other wonders and eclectic nooks the city has to offer.
CITIES/PLACES VISITED IN CHINA : Beijing, Great Wall (Simatai).
TOP THINGS TO DO/SEE IN CHINA
If you're feeling pretty fit, the 8km hike up and down the Great Wall in Simatai is impressive and memorable.
Animal markets -- Where you find green crickets in tiny cages, worms, exotic fish, hamsters and even squirrels.
The Forbidden Palace and surrounding parks were fabulous to explore.
BEST MEMORIES FROM CHINA
A trip to the night markets in downtown Beijing was awesome - with tons of variety, even safe things to try like dumplings and rice for the more conservative folk.
Riding a tourist bus towards the great wall and having the chinese in neighbouring cars wave timidly and yet excitedly at us. It was surprising to see not too many tourists around. And as a result, the chinese seemed to still react positively to interactions with tourists. It was marvelous !
At one point walking near the Forbidden Palace, there was a "blizzard" of light pink flower petals showering down. Magically felt a little like snow. It was very surreal.
Having my temporature checked via a thermometer after arriving at the hostel. These guys are serious about protecting people from the swine flu ! They even have infrared fever check cameras at the airport.
The touristy hutong/alley "nanluogo" that I stayed in was perfect for someone new to China and made it easier to get started. Most chinese do not speak any English - even the ones in this touristy area had English limited to just the basics around selling their wares.
My cheap hotel room actually came with a laptop (!) - Of course I still had to pay hourly for my internet access.
FAVOURITE FOODS / DRINKS IN CHINA
Yogurt drinks with sweet red beans -- popular and delicious
China's version of an egg and bacon wrap, street food style - YUM!
Cheap dumplings if you find the right spot !
Very spicy sechuan food. However some of it can have way too much oil in the food.
REALLY WEIRD FOOD / DRINKS (SOME EVEN I COULDN'T GATHER THE COURAGE TO TRY!)
Roasted scorpians, crickets, sea stars, sea horses and worse -- see my food page below ! Didn't try any of these.
PHOTO GALLERIES
"Best of" Photos (42)
Beijing, China
The Great Wall (45)
Simatai, China
Forbidden Palace (37)
Beijing, China
Animal Market (18)
Beijing, China
Beijing Opera (15)
Beijing, China
Art District 798 (31)
Beijing, China
HouHai Lakes (17)
Beijing, China
Architecture (21)
Beijing, China
Gargoyles (21)
Beijing, China
Food (63)
Beijing, China
Hutong Alleys (19)
Beijing, China
Street Life (61)
Beijing, China
Parks (20)
Beijing, China
Misc (41)
Beijing, China
Translations (21)
Beijing, China
WHAT WOULD I DO IN CHINA WHEN I RETURN?
Go back to Beijing -- Really loved that place and there is just so much to see and experience there.
Visit Shanghai, China's big smoke.
Visit rural chinese villages and enjoy the great fresh and mountainous outdoors.
