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With the rearrangement of my flight I was having my last day in Beijing and it was my birthday. It is funny when you are surrounded by so many people and they don’t know or care that it is your day today.

After yesterday’s ”Great Wall day’, everything was going to be at a stroll pace today as I was in a wind down mood. There were more Temples and a few ‘National’ This, That and the Other to see, but I was in need of some pandering, so where best than Beijing Zoo. Well that’s were they keep Panda’s don’t they? When you were a kid that was what was special about China, wasn’t it?, and I have never seen a live one. I’m not a fan of Zoo’s, but I thought a relaxing walk in some parkland would be nice. The rest of Beijing thought it was a good idea too.

From my conversation with my Mexican friend yesterday, (and guys if you are reading this can you reply with your first names as I forgot them and I would like to personalise the blog for everyone) the subway system was supposed to be very easy to use. After a relay breakfast where I almost lost my main course as I ventured in search of a spoon, I headed to the Hotel Cafe for a nice Latte and a comfortable seat. I pulled out the two tourist maps of Beijing that I had. One of the problems is that Beijing is so vast that the typeface is always in fine print on any map or subway map. I tapped into the Internet which allowed me get other tourists experiences and what to expect of the subway. It is nice to see the pictures before you arrive. Looks straightforward. The other little issue for foreign travellers is that although the Subway has an English version of the station name, the way we may see it is not the way the Chinese say it, so get lost at your peril.

To seek a little help I asked the staff in the Cafe some simple mimed questions. I am getting like Marcel Marceau with my mime act. I haven’t had to open a clear window yet, but everything else has been tried. Now I didn’t Mime ‘Zoo’ as I had read that the zoo had 20,000 animals, so I pointed to the map. So…

1. Where is the local subway station? 1st answer, “yes”, 2nd answer “take Bus” and 3rd one a point and a finger mime for walking “10 minutes”

2. Route to the Beijing Zoo by Subway ? (Pointing at map)… Hmmm, this was a bit harder, they took the maps and had a conference been four of them and then Phoned a Friend. Got it! They circled the map at 4 stations, my Local Station, 2 Transfer stations and then the Final one which was nicely titled ‘Beijing Zoo’.

I read it back to them and tried to pronounce the 3 other Stations. Oooh?, the local one I though was easiest, Dongsi (Dong Si, right?, wrong!) Dong Souuuu, I tried but it just made them laugh, the more I chewed on the word the more they laughed. They were starting to mellow with me. Maybe I should have opened my visit with a stand up comedy act. I think they were also laughing that a man travelling alone in a city like Beijing wanted to spend the afternoon at the zoo. The song of “We’re all going to the Zoo tomorrow” came into my head. I changed the final line to ….’We’re going to stay until I get bored’ (was it Peter, Paul and Mary?). Well I had to do it, so with just a camera in hand, but also with iPhone and sufficient funds to get a plane ticket back to London if I got lost, I headed off. The station was the 10 minute walk, but I was noting landmarks along the route. ‘Dongsi!’ tick, I am there, nice underground and you sense organisation and quality. Luckily the automated machines were all faulty so I did not have to stand and watch people, I headed to the ticket office. One ticket for 2 Yuan (20 UK pence) gets you to anywhere in Beijing. London take note, 20 pence!, not 4 Pounds with limitations. The signs were really good and to my surprise the Platform announcments were in English as well. The Olympics must have given Beijing a good legacy for tourists. I think some stations in London had a few air conditioning units from London 2012. Queuing was Chinese style. You queue inside lines and when the doors open you push in, even if the passengers trying to exit can’t get off because Incomers are in the way. A little bit of logic training wouldn’t go amiss. Excellent information board and announcments on the train. Some of my blogs may sound like I have had 30 years in solitary confinement, but what interests me is how some of these ‘super’ economies are doing some of the basics. Trains, Sign posts and helping people, culture and behaviours. Kyoto is still top of my list of ‘having it sorted’. I’m playing around with some fun statistics that I will share with you in June, when I know that deporting me won’t matter.

So the trains, and to the Zoo, it was fine. I had my trusted compass but my maps are less trusted as they are very brittle and each time I pick it out my back pocket it is getting smaller.

I head straight for the Panda’s and in the first pen two were posing just as I had expected, chewing on some bamboo. Click, click, I’m done…Not really I did have a good walk around and even went into their large Aquarium. I think I have seen some of these fish on the menu. Cute Rainforest type layout taking you around the fish. Interesting all the signs..Don’t Climb, Don’t Feed, Don’t put hands in the Water, No Flash photography, do not enter xyz. Yeh right, so you want subtle things like this?

Later I was back in the Hotel as I fancied a few pints and a lot of Face Time with family and friends back home, which was lovely and a chance to share some of forthcoming blogs on special previews. A really enjoyable afternoon and the technology worked well. This world is a lot smaller than we think.

In the evening I returned to the al a carte restaurant and browsed the heavy menus again. Tonight a starter of a Pork Platter followed by Duck in Flower Tea with some Sticky Rice.

A plate of complimentary exotic fruits was placed in front to kick me off.

The Pork arrived and it was 3 slabs of different ways of cooking Belly I think.

One was Yellow and seemed to have been poached, one was very crispy and its skin, fat and meat was perfectly layered and the third was more soft and crunchy skin with similar layers. Each was perfectly cut into small bite sites pieces and easy for Chopsticks. A sweet almost marmalade sauce with a teryaki type brown sauce and sugar were the dips. Absolutely delicious. I don’t know how they get the skin so thin and crispy.

The Duck then arrived which was bite sized too in a red brown glaze with slices of mushrooms and I think braised water chestnuts. Very filling and went well with the pork. The rice had not arrived but I wasn’t that bothered as I was filling up very quickly. As a breath stop, I waved to the waitress to come back over and with the help of my passport explained that it was my birthday. I got a smile and a wish of Happy Birthday. I then asked her for a piece of paper and a pen, which she did and I wrote ’13 April’ and nodded to her so she understood. I then wrote 13 04 by the side of the date, nodded, so did she. I then arranged the numbers as an addition 1 + 3 + 0 + 4 and gave the answer of 8. The Chinese hold the number 8 with great reverence and superstition. She got it straight away, smiled and went off.

I returned to my meal and ate as much as I could. Leaving good food is not polite. I had a last gasp and put the Chopsticks down. As I did the restaurant Manager came over and wished me a Happy Birthday, news had travelled to the Kitchen, but then presented me with a Huge bowl of Udon Noodles, Cabbage and an Egg floating on the top and about a Litre of Broth. I thanked them and loosen my belt. I did manage most of the Noodles and Cabbage and Egg and had a celebration slurp on the broth. I really was done. I don’t want to be in someone else airline story…I was sitting next to this enormous Englishman!…The Hotel staff were warming to me. Less Goldfish today, more Elephants (in the politest memory sense). I signed my bill and it wasn’t questioned.

I headed down to do my Check Out as I had an early flight in the morning. It was the same guy who had turned down my Travellers Cheques. I knew it and he knew it too. We have an interesting dilemma, I have to put my PIN into the device and SIGN the paper. So if he doesn’t like my signature, then what? If he does like my signature, then does he apologise for yesterdays fiasco. I had had a good day and the Staff had tried harder today, so I broke the ice. I just advised him of my conversation with Amex and what he should have done, but also how the west does things a bit differently. He did apologise and did understand the irony of my check out signature. I also shared the Birthday Math with him and he offered to get the Kitchen to prepare a cake for me. I thank him, but declined.

Well that’s all but the packing which should be easy.

Overall, my impression is that Beijing has a lot of interesting things to see and do which you have to sample. Some of their behaviours and manners are very different to the West and I think I am a bit jaundiced (you could say they are) by the fact that I am a lone traveller which means that simple things are quite hard and one thing affects your view of the next. As a couple or in a group, while one person has their job as map reader, another person can be looking for clues and so on. But you must try these things and as we know some times we need a bit of motivation to make the first step. Onwards and downwards, Singapore!

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I am off today on a tour of the Ming Tombs and The Great Wall of China. I have arranged it through the Hotel’s Tour Desk, so nice and simple and less stressful than arranging my own transport.

Up and ready to fit a breakfast in, I tactically gather all of my breakfast together, before eating anything. Nothing disappeared while I was on the relay for the Pancakes. I could sense that I was on a mission as I was eating too quickly and kept looking at my watch. At 8am I was waiting at the Front Desk at the allotted time. The Tour Operator was to arrive in 10 minutes which he duly did and led me out to a Small Coach, also with two other ladies who were from the Philippines, one of them who now lives in California. We got on the bus and joined 3 other people, a delightful couple from Venezuela (Liliana and Guillermo) and a man from Mexico who spoke exceptional Spanish and English and was our interpreter and the fact man for our group. My Mexican man said that his mother was English and came from Leek in Staffordshire. The sun was shining and we were off. The Guide introduced himself as ‘Wong’ and did his best to position Beijing and what we were going to be doing.

The small coach gave us time to do some introductions and we shared the usual stories of ‘where travelled?, Beijing experiences and Hotels’.

The first drop was the Ming Tombs. These are the Mausoleums of past Emperors. We arrived and we had some early sharing of cameras to get some shots and the group was beginning to gel. Wong arranged the tickets and led us with intermittent commentary through the Gates. The entrance was just like all the buildings of the Forbidden City, even the numbers of dragons and designs. Not surprising that one was where they lived and one was where they were laid to rest. In those days they were not inspired by the latest world wide building designs from Dubai, New York or Seoul, even though the Tomb of Jun who we were visiting was a bit of an explorer.

Inside the Courtyard stood a standalone entrance gate, a castle-like building for the tomb entrance and a hillside just beyond. It was bad luck to walk through the ‘gate’ so we walked around it and the history was told of the ‘rights’ if walking on the central path. The Mausoleum would usually contain the dying Emperor, his wife and his favourite Concubine. Not so good for the Concubine who was sacrificed on his death.

We walked up and around the monument to the Emperor, the castle, and had a few views of the surrounding mountains, but no tombs. These aren’t open to the public as they are buried underground under the hillside. Wong pointed out that as the air quality was good today we could see 2 other Tombs, one to our left up in the Mountains and one way in the distance down a valley. I couldn’t help thinking that as a main Beijing tourist sight, that the absence of ‘a Tomb’ sort of weakened its attraction. A bit like going to an art gallery without paintings ??

The Filipino Lady wanted a Hat from a small shop in the Courtyard, as the Great Wall is a bit chillier but very sunny at the same time. This is the best low key haggling I have seen. A Fur Hat. “How Much?” asked her American friend, “800 Yuan!”, “I don’t have that much”. “600 Yuan!”, “I only have 120 Yuan” and was looking at other Hats too, but by this stage the Hat is sitting on her friends Head. “400 Yuan!”. “But I only have this much”, showing the notes and starts to walk away. Deal struck at 120 Yuan.

We wait to leave at the free standing Gate, where we have to chant in Chinese “I’ll be back” as you step over the ledge of the doorway. The ledge also prevents ghosts from passing through, so Wong says.

We are led back to the coach and given the introduction to our stop off shopping point, a Jade Factory, which is also the lunch venue. How convenient.

Remember, my Indian position, “I hate shopping!” Well that hadn’t changed. Nice to see all the Jade stuff, but…bring my lunch.

The Restaurant had two massive dining halls, all with circular tables and a party susi in the middle of each which was served with a number of dishes. It gave us all some more time to chat, which was good. A beer as well.

Then off to the Great Wall, this really is the main event, a Seven Wonders of the World thing. Now there are a few lists for Seven Wonders, The Original and mythical ones, the new ones, the new new ones etc etc. Whatever lists that are out there, the Great Wall of China has to be among them. Built over a 1400 years period and stretching 8,800 Kilometres it is really impressive. With an estimated 10 Million people who lost their lives building it.

We were directed to a Cable Car which would take us to a section of the wall from which we could walk for a couple of hours and the guide arranged for 6 tickets to get us up. After the usual ‘awe’ photos at the top, I thought we had agreed to meet at the same place at 2pm, so we went off in the same direction, amongst the hoards of Chinese people. The Walls are immense with steep inclines that hug the contours of the hills and mountains and go way out into the distance in a range of zig zag lines with staging turrets every couple of hundred metres or so. Lots of photos as a group with lots of sharing of photo opportunities etc. About an hour in, I lost sight of my party, but we had a rendezvous point and I aimed for that.

The Walls are amazing and to think this is all prepared by hand. It certainly was a defence line and also quite intimidating. It pushed back the Mongolians for centuries with a suggested Military Force of 1 Million soldiers manning the walls.

The walkways were polished stone from the centuries of users and probably massive amounts of tourists in the last 50 years. It was painful on the calf muscles on the way up and painful on your knees on the way down. But still old people and small children were making the pilgrimage.

Lots of photo’s. The air quality isn’t as clear and there is a general haze, but still spectacular.

I get back to the meeting point and find myself first, so take in more of the views. 2.10pm, 2.20pm, 2.30pm and no one has joined me…Let me check the point about 25 metres back?..no one. 2.40pm, 2.50pm, I was starting to contemplate going down and pinning a note on a metal pole, but at 3pm I made the decision to go just as about 100 Chinese tourist made the same decision too. We shuffled up an L shaped tunnel. The Cars held 6 people, unless you are Chinese and you just want to go only with your immediate family, so less efficiency. I have seen the same practice in European Ski resorts, but at least there the cable operators cuss at not making the most of the space. Interesting that in Delhi I saw 6 big men squeeze into the back of a Tuk Tuk built for 2.

At the bottom of the Cable Car I turn Left as I was told, but could not see the Guide our Mini Coach? I walk into the car park and I knocked on the windows of 2 similar looking cars. They just shook their heads. I walked back but there was nobody who could speak English. Luckily I had the Tour leaflet in my pocket and a telephone number scribbled on it for the tour operator. I hadn’t got my phone with me, lesson learned, so went to the Cable Ticket office and mimed to the girl if she could dial the number, and she did. She passed the phone and as I said “Hi, I am at the Great Wall” they knew exactly who I was. “Hold on I will call you back”, I tried to give her the feedback that it wasn’t my phone, but she hung up. I handed the phone back to the assistant through the glass window and tried to explain that they would return the call. In 2 minutes Wong was on the phone asking where I was and why I was late. I had a vision in my head of the true story of 2 scuba divers left out at sea.

“We waited, now we are gone, you have to get a bus”. At this point a Taxi driver who had been watching me came over and sensed what was going on and an opportunity. Wong continued, “you get the 919 bus as far as it goes then get a Subway train”. “How do I do that?”, He would call me back. We are about 80Km outside of Beijing. The Taxi driver says he will do it for 600 Yuan, I reach into my pocket and I have 500 available. He reluctantly says yes. Wong calls back and I tell him that a driver will take me back, I handed the phone to the Taxi driver. They argue over the price, but I think that the Taxi driver was complaining about Wong leaving a tourist behind. The phone is handed back to me, “he will take you to a Toll Gate and charge you 300 Yuan and I will meet you there”. Back on track I thought. We run across to his Taxi and he speeds off beeping all the way to get people out the way. He takes a series of back roads at high speed and I do not say a word to him as you need to focus when overtaking 2 large Coaches on a blind bend. It was break neck speed, but 20 minutes later he pulls up to the side of a Toll Road. He doesn’t want to go on it as he will be going off towards Beijing and that is not the plan. I gave him the leaflet with the office number and he transacts with them to get Wong’s mobile number. An exchange of ‘where are you?’ and a very heated discussion takes place. He quickly gets out the car and opens the back door for me and says, “he will be coming up there!” and points at a fence at the Toll Booth. Then in the next second I see Wong, running up the Toll Road. After his one way debrief that I was late he said “The car is 300 Metres down the toll road” and we start to walk. As we pass the toll cashier, she shouts to him that we can’t go down the toll road without a car. I know what’s going to happen.

We wait for the next toll user and beg a lift. The first turned Wong down. A second hesitantly agrees and we squeeze in for the 20 second ride. Onto the bus and apologies from me all around. They had waited for an hour and had been further delayed by the re-rendezvous. I explained the waiting at the top and they were waiting at the bottom. My Mexican friend was translating my conversation with Liliana and Guillermo. When I said that I was sorry to delay their shopping trip to the Silk Factory, they said that they didn’t go. I apologies again. “No, they said, we didn’t want to go shopping anyway” and Guillermo gave me a ‘High Five’ in celebration. They joked that I owed them dinner.

What an afternoon.

We made our way back and I was dropped off at the Hotel. I said I would try to make it to the Novotel Hotel that evening to do dinner at their superior buffet. After our farewells, I thought I need my iPad, NOW. And, I need a pint.

Earlier in the day I had sent an emailnto my Travel Agent back in the UK to request an earlier flight on Monday as I was due to get to the Hotel in Singapore at 2.00am which was a bit silly. I ordered the Pint of Beer and tried to locate her reply. “Postmaster Fail”. I am fairly technical, but this means that one or both of the emails that I had sent to my agent ‘Mary’ or the central office number had not worked. I was running out of time. I contacted Tom back in the UK by Instant Message to see if he could help, but at that point Mary’s email arrived and confirmed that there were earlier flights, but only one sensible one. Beijing was starting to become a challenge for me rather than a trip, so I asked Mary to look at cutting a day off Beijing and I will take the extra day in Singapore. Success! I downed my beer and asked for the Bill. Now remember what I had said of the Goldfish. The same girl asks for me to complete the same simple printed charge sheet, with Name, Room and Signature. So I give my First name Initial and Family Name. She goes off and returns and with the use of an iPhone type device types in a request in Chinese which translates to English and shows me the translation. I open my iPad application to get ready with a reply.

Waitress “Enter your registration name!”

Dave “This is my name!”

Waitress “Enter your registration name!”

Dave (writing ‘David’ after the name) and pointing “This is my name!”

She goes back to the cashier who has also been serving me for 4 days.

Automation out again. And not forgetting we are talking about One Pint of Local Beer. Waitress “Enter your registration name!”

This goes on for another 2 rounds and I am starting to use a few polite expressions about the Hotels ability to do business which is wasted as I didn’t type them into my translator. She wanders back to the Cashier then turns to me and say, “OK now”. OK now?, I hadn’t changed anything!

I had planned to go to the Novotel tonight with the hope of catching up with the Spanish speaking contingent so thought I should translate my apologetic excuses to read for them. As it was we didn’t catch up (I will tell you in a moment), but they will be able to see what I would have said and for the sake of my Anglo saxon friends and family the translation…

Mis sinceras disculpas por el retraso de su viaje a la fábrica de seda. (My sincere apologies for delaying your trip to the Silk Factory)

Yo echarle la culpa a la ignorancia de Inglaterra de la línea de fecha internacional (I blame it on England’s ignorance of the International Date Line)

Un perro chino se comió el pedazo de papel con mi tiempo de encuentro (A Chinese dog ate the piece of paper with my rendezvous time)

Tengo insolación (I have sun stroke)

Me encanta América del Sur (I love South America)

Pues más de lo (Well most of it)

Well to buy a few drinks tonight I need a bit of extra Yuan. I’ll change some Travellers Cheques at the Hotels Front Door Cashier. £200 is plenty so I have 4 x £50 cheques. I ask the question and I am led to the end of the desk which is the Hotel’s Cashiers area. I am told where to sign, really easy, as I have used £900 already in India, Hong Kong and Japan. I sign and I have my UK passport and also noting that I am a guest of 4 days, he checks it and smiles to himself and then says, No! He can’t speak much English so goes down to a more senior person for a double check. He utters something and the Clerk comes back. “No, can you try another one?”, Yes, no problem, I signed a second and he is joined by his colleague. This one isn’t acceptable either. I show them my passport which also has the Chinese Visa built in. My signature is not close enough. I said that the Hotel was making it very difficult for guests to do business with them. I signed a 3rd with a second signature on the back and even with my passport shown clearly they said they couldn’t accept it. The main man apologised, but said American Express have rules and we have management guidelines. I am getting to a stage where I think that I should have bought a goat and a few chickens with me to barter. “So do you have an ATM machine?”, he pointed to a corner behind me.

I went back to my room safe for my cards, but also called American Express for advice. They were really helpful. They told me that they expect signatures to vary and a resemblance is what they need and, where necessary, the Cashier can call Amex for an authorisation code, which in my case the Hotel didn’t do. I went back to the ATM machine and both my Visa Card and Master Card came back with an error of ‘No Overseas Cards Accepted’. My thought of leaving for Singapore was holding back a real rant.

The desk pointed me to another machine, which worked, but I thought, take less out as I will probably have difficulty exchanging any surplus back. I did go back to the Cashier to complain about the ATM as the two Filipino ladies were trying to change a 100 US dollar bill. Again the same cashier was doubting the validity of that as well.

With that said I headed out for the Novotel. After endless approaches by Call Girls who are everywhere irrespective of the Police being around and it being a highly populated street I gave up hope of finding the Novotel. My dining experience for the night was KFC. I headed back for the Hotel to put a cap on today and also to get my Singapore Hotel arranged.

Singapore all in hand, I have one last pint and a coffee and amazingly charged to my room at the first attempt. The Fish Bowl is empty now and it is approaching midnight so I decided to call it a day. From absolute Greatness and Awe, to awful all in one day. Night!

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There is an interesting and stark difference between my stay in Kyoto and the stay in Beijing. The Beijing Prime Hotel is a large building with nice furnishings, a big open style reception with marble flooring and a sweeping staircase that goes up to the first floor mezzanine. It is by far the most glamorous of the Hotels that I have stayed in on my trip to Asia, so far. The bedroom is large and well kept with the study desk and armchair that I would find in some of the better hotels in the USA. My feeling after two days is that it isn’t really catering for the non-Chinese tourist even though they have every facility and a good concierge that I should want. The issue I have today is that although they, like the Japanese, revere (yes, I have swallowed a dictionary for breakfast) Koi, the staff are very ‘goldfish’ like in their customer service. No one has been rude and no one has been discourteous but there is something missing in the way they look after you. Let me explain. From what I have noticed I am one of a few English speaking people in the Hotel. Each day I have either had a Coffee or a Beer in the open cafe. Yesterday I ventured in 3 times. I have been served by the same staff. When I arrive to the soft lounge seats, they don’t wait for me to sit down, they look me in the eye and have their order pads ready and stand very close until I make a decision. Goldfish? You know what they say that Goldfish lose their memory every 4 seconds. I seem to be a brand new stranger each time I arrive into their bowl. When I ask for the Bill and put it to my room, each time it is double checked and I am asked to wait for its approval before I leave. Smiles as they do it, but a mistrust that makes you feel uneasy. In the restaurant last night, I was asked to confirm my first name on the bill before I left. It is though they have had a number of running customers. And for service, they don’t watch you they watch the chinaware. Yesterday’s buffet breakfast, I gathered some cereal from the large food area which has a great selection of hot and cold foods and a glass of orange juice. A waiter came with a tray of Coffee, Cup and Saucer and poured a cup. There were about 30 tables of 4 settings in the non smoking area and I was one of about 10 people in for breakfast. I finished the cereal and went off for the main event. When I arrived back, my table had been cleaned of everything! I had signed for my breakfast in a nano second and was expecting someone to come again for another signature. The same waiter came up to me again, “Coffee?” as if I had just arrived. Now do I go back for an Orange Juice ?…hmm.

Before I venture out, I look out of my big window and take a bird’s eye view of the main crossroad. I was trying figure out the purpose of the Pedestrain Red and Green lights. At some there is even a count down on Green of about 50 seconds. Looking down, the vast majority of pedestrians are skipping the crossing on ‘red’ pausing every now and then to cross 6 lanes of traffic. After the day out today I can see why they do this. When the lights turn to ‘green’ for pedestrians, the cars just keep coming and do not stop if you walking on the black and white foot markings.

I decide that I am not up for my walk out just yet and go for a swim instead.

The pool on the fourth floor was freezing, although the sign said it would be 26C and an outside of 28C. I wrinkled quickly and got under a hot shower as soon as I could.

Eventually I head out and aim for a small hill and park just to the north of the Forbideen City, Jingshan Park. I could just about see it to the far left from my bedroom. Beijing is a very flat city. You could liken it to Bournemouth. Jingshan was created about 600 years ago when the Forbidden City’s moats and canals were being dug out. They piled it up and created a number of places of worship. Even though it is only about 100 metres high, it is a great vantage point to get 360 degree views of Beijing, especially a roof tops view of the Forbidden City. It was easy going and a pleasing start to the day. The sun was up and the sky was blue.

As the roads are basically a grid system, I kept my bearings based on the Forbidden Cities northern gate and continued to the next local Palace. This was the Emperors Winter Palace which was also linked to a big Park and Boating lake called Beihai. The Palace rooms are filled with Buddhist statues linked to the Tibetan Order, which when you consider their age are in amazing condition. The lakes and parkland are a nice stroll too.

I stop off in the Park for a small bite to eat. Not too much to write home about as the picture in the menu shows a self standing pile of Chicken, but I had something which tasted like Duck and was obviously having a swimming lesson in some soup.

Half replenished I got my bearings. As all my electronic equipment has been locked away in my Hotel Room, I was using my trusted walkers compass. I bought it about 15 years for a trip to the Lake District and had never used it. It proved to be a god send. Although talking to a Chinese-Canadian couple later on and he pressed a button on his watch and it showed him ‘North’. I actually knew where I was and the route I would take to my next stop off, Tian’an men Square.

Working a route at the rear of the Forbidden City, there was a procession of hundreds of people walking for the same purpose. Still littered by people wanting to sell you things, and with the added pain of call girls who try to talk to you to ‘learn English!’ One actually swore at me when I wouldn’t speak to her, and I could tell by the diction that she did actually need a lesson or two.

As you pass through the final gate of the ‘City, you hit your first glimpse of Tian’an men Square. It really is massive. You can easily believe that Mao did a military dress for 1 Million Soldiers in the square. Before moving through an underpass to get to the main square across a busy multi lane road, you look back over your shoulder at large portrait of Mao Zedong. He was the creator of the New China and he has left an amazing starting point for China. It is different out here but to control and set direction for 1.3 Billion people you do need to have someone with clear principles and charisma. To put into context this many people, hand in hand, they would be able to wrap around the world 45 times.

It is a general meeting place for thousands of people, but with such a huge space it always looks empty. The flags were flying high with the wind and it was a very patriotic occasion. At the North end of the Square, a large flag pole was chained off and had sentries guarding it. At Sundown, they have a ceremony of taking down the flag. The Crowds gathered including the call-girls who had less walking to do to spot the Europeans. It was a fairly long wait. I approached one on the soldiers to see what time it was expected. He understood, but just couldn’t find the words. I think it finally arrived at about 6.15pm. Just 45 minutes prior to this a woman broke from the crowds and crouched in a bow toward the flag pole, all the guards ran to protect the square and she was led off to a Police Truck. They got back to their starting positions in a very dignified manner, with military precision.

When the time came and the sun was giving the buildings to the West a clear silhouette, the traffic of the Main Road was stopped and a squad of about 30 soldiers marched in military dress outfits across from the building with Mao’s portrait, straight to the flag courtyard and the Flag started lowering. It wasn’t as lavish and arousing as the India-Pakistan border opening and closing but it was equally passionate in its own way.

Well that was Tian’an men Square, tick. I got my general bearings and headed in an L shape down the main road and then left back up to the Hotel. I could have got a Taxi but it would have been an extra bit of hassle. I’m certainly losing a bit of weight with my walking and probably, you might be surprised, by eating less and I am now 2 pounds above my ideal weight.

In the Hotel and a quick Buffet meal which was extremely disappointing. Not sure if its a timing of meals thing or time to move on thing, but the food isn’t exciting me like I had expected.

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After a basic breakfast at the Hotel, I got my bearings to go out to the Forbidden City. I am only about a kilometre from the front gate and it was very easy to find. As I left the main road and went down a couple of side roads, you get a sense of basic street life. As a woman was stocking up her shops vegetables from a small rickshaw, she saw me coming but then spat on the pavement just in front of me. Note sure with all the hype on Bird Flu that people really get the hygiene thing. It was a conversation that Major Tom and I shared about India that was one of his hates.

As I approach the High Walls of the Forbidden City which is also known as the Palace Museum, I had the usual ‘Guides, Beggars and Rickshaws’. They really are a pain. Everyone is an ‘official guide’. That aside, the Forbidden City is an awesome complex which was built some 500 years ago. It is surrounded by walls that must be 50 feet high and a wide moat of about 120 feet. For the youngster among my followers and the Europeans, that would be about a 12 Metres Wall and 35 Metres moat width. While we are talking about Imperial Standards, just for interest, I have found that Japanese and Hong Kong drivers drive on the Left, Chinese drivers on the right and Indian drivers drive wherever there is a gap or a bit of space.

Back to the Forbidden City. Through the main gate and I must have been approached by 50 ‘guides’, who wanted to be my personal tutor for the trip. It is helped by the Palace office that gives a fast track line to allow these ‘guides’ to get quick tickets for their clients. This type of stuff really bugs me as it would be easy to remove the unofficial guides if you really wanted to and send them out to the paddy fields by the North Korean border, where they could sell you tour tickets into South Korea. Argh, I slipped a bit then. ‘Dunmoanin?’. Apologies.

I queued up and got a ticket for 40 RMB, which is 40 Yuan. Really cheap when you see the grounds. Even with the pound being very low against the Yuan it is still a good price.

As you enter the main gate, and I assume there must be another gate as people were walking up from the south as well, you are in a massive courtyard. And the courtyard is full of Chinese tourists. So picture this, you have just arrived by coach from another Chinese city, you are advised by your official guide to stay close as a group so they can keep you all inform and to assist this you should wear a unique Baseball Cap. To be really outstanding, wear a Red or a White one. As I tussle for a place in the queue and then in through the main gate, not forgetting that I have now an Automatic Guide around my neck that works by GPS, you enter another huge courtyard where you get a real feel for this enclosed City. For centuries it was off-grounds for everyone except the Emperors people and with a death penalty for anyone caught without permission. You would have to say that these people would be easy to spot, as they would either have to slip the main gate man a bag of rice or scale the walls and jump down the other side, breaking their legs in the process. Anyway, I am in this courtyard and their hat colour was a brilliant choice. There are red and white caps everywhere, interleved with black ones with a big red star, which are sold to the tourists by the main gate. I’m sure they don’t lose too may people and nobody gets on the wong bus.

So we are in. The grounds are amazing. A few of the buildings are closed due to refurb this month but it still leaves heaps to see. It goes on and on and on. From the photos you will eventually see when I find a way to load them or when I am in Singapore in 6 days time, the scale of the place was hard to capture. As a completely walled environment, I do not think I have ever seen anything of this size. When it was just the Emperor and his entourage, this would have been a very quiet place, very regal.

It was crowded today, but I did manage to get elbow room to get my pictures. It was a bit of a scrum at the main throne rooms, as every Chinese person pushed to get to the front. I was a bit lucky that I was taller than most and have longer arms than most, so with my camera way up in the air and caught most things without going into the ruck.

I was caught out once off my guard, when I stopped for a drink and a ‘volunteer’ said that I could see the private painting exhibition through a guarded wooden door way. We chatted about English accents and specifically the Geordie accent that she brought up, before I downed my drink and went through. It was a University art group selling their work. They were good though and I did buy a couple of small pieces. Even for a ‘student’ she had the haggle built in. She showed me a 4 piece set and they cost 300 Yuan, 30 pounds each. I did like it and for something that gave a hint of China and small enough to replace a pair of underpants in my suit case I agreed. “What about one to balance it?” She said. No, just one, that’s all I want. “I would make it 500 for two”. No I only want the one. “I could do it for 400?” OK, I said. And we struck a deal. They were rolled up and placed into a box. Maybe 2 pairs of underpants I thought!

I spent 4 hours at the Forbidden City before calling it a day. I’m here for 5 days and I will be taking it easy as the last 3 weeks I found that a crammed day knocks you back by two days and you do not enjoy it so much. I also don’t enjoy the constant pitching for business or as I found on the walk back to the hotel the commercial beggars.

The palace was certainly a place to go to again as I missed out so much, so maybe tomorrow afternoon.

My plan for the afternoon is to chill a bit. I believe there is a pool in the hotel somewhere.

There is a large lounge bar in the Hotel, with very attentive staff who speak very little English. I have been trying out my Translation Application and it doesn’t quite work perfectly. I ordered a sandwich and asked if I could have some Potato Chips (Crisps) with it. A toothe pick arrived. Having WiFi and the App, I typed my question and showed them the translation. Eureka! 69 pence investment vindicated. They hadn’t got any Crisps so I ended up with French Fries!

The evening was rounded in the A la Carte Restaurant as I want to be more choosy. Very extensive Chinese menu with a few things cooked that I wouldn’t do on eco grounds, like Shark Fin soup and dishes, but I finally went for the Pan Fried Goose Liver with a Pepper Sauce, delicious and soft, and a main course of Bull Frog with Chilli Peppers and Sticky rice. My question to you all is…Have you ever caught a Bull Frog? No ?, well I chased the pieces around a simmering serving dish for 30 minutes with Chop Sticks. It tasted like Chicken but with more bones and less meat. Well you have to try these things.

I had a small bottle of beer which was difficult to order, even thought I pointed to the next table and said ‘Tsingtao’. What they had difficulty in translation was whether I wanted a cold beer or a warm beer? Well let me think about that one.

First day done and undecided about my feelings on Beijing…hmm?

Packing and travelling day Monday and Tuesday. I wake up early on Monday morning and it is obvious that last nights dinner is still lying heavy on my stomach, so I decide to skip breakfast completely. I know there is a lot of preparation for the staff to get my Japanese breakfast laid out so I give them notice of my intention.

I have got to a level with my packing that at capacity, if something new has to be loaded, then something old has to go. Today’s casualty was my pink striped shirt. I did find it a bit heavy in the humid heat, so it didn’t take long to sentence it to its fate. I am also practicing with what packing method works best? fold or roll? Today I tried the ‘roll’ method. There was one other candidate to go on my list, which was a bag of smalls and socks laundry. My better nature held true. “These people have been really pleasant, why should I wish my laundry even if I put it in the waste to these lovely people?” The Ryokan was so simple to pack from. I had a small built-in wardrobe, the rest of the room was empty apart from the low table and the bedding. You always fear that you will leave a shoe of a cable under the bed. With the futon, I just lifted it in the air. Easy.

After check-out, I wandered into the glorious sunshine to catch a cab. It is a really beautiful day. How hard would it be to get a taxi on a side street. I raised my hand and chose one of 3 that were willing to stop immediately. The back door and boot automatically opened and I am in and off. The Taxi drivers take immense pride in their taxi’s. The decorative cotton covers are in mint condition. They want you to have a good experience even for the shortest of journeys.

Up through Kyoto Station a ticket for the Shinkansen and navigation to the platform, car and seat. Perfectly on time.

I get to the edge of Kyoto and the scenes all around showed Mountains in the distance with snow capped peaks. It is a little chilly, so any rain would have topped them up yesterday. I throw on my anthem, ‘The World Ain’t Slowin’ Down’. Movement of the train is at the same pace as the song and it uplifts me immediately. I am travelling on the other side of the train for the way back and the scenary and buildings hold the same appeal. As I write this I am passing fields of Tea, that are organised in neat low curved hedgerows, field after field, hillside after hillside. I can wallow in its beauty, I just have trouble swallowing it.

You get a sense that you are in a beast of a train as it hurtles through tunnels and across its elevated tracks. And inside it’s really comfortable. I did go for First Class again as I wanted to finish off Kyoto as it deserved, relaxed.

Well let me enjoy the final bits of the journey with a bit more Country Music in my headphones.

From the hotel up at Tokyo’s Narita Airport I set out on Tuesday for Beijing and it is another blue skied day. I wasn’t expecting any issues until we got to the airport in Beijing. The flight took me through Shanghai and we were directed through transfers and immigration to catch the same plane that we had just got off. I think this is the fastest immigration check of any airport I have been to ever. There were 10 passengers going to Beijing, the rest moved off into Shanghai. We were directed as a group to a solitary area of the airport with no one but this small crew and passed the paperwork in 5 minutes. We were ushered across another empty area of the airport and then up into the Domestic Terminal. Now the flight was ‘Shanghai to Beijing’ an internal flight.

We headed like sheep as a group to the Gate which was filled with hundreds of Chinese people waiting for two flights, Ours and one other to another City. Nobody’s moving so I suspected something was up. Announcement…phew the other Flight has a delay and they don’t know when it will be taking off. Then, another Announcement…Technical fault on the flight to Beijing. I was thinking, I had guided my Beijing Hotel to arrange a car for me and I hadn’t thought through a ‘plan B’…hmm.

The terminal was floor to ceiling glass fronted so I walked down a little way to see if they had the bonnet up on the plane. No bonnet but 6 guys were standing with wrenches around one of the Wheels. We had come in a bit heavy, but however, we had a delay until it fixed. Use the time wisely I thought and started to wander in search of a Currency Exchange. A shop assistant stopped me and asked what I wanted, then explained that there is no Currency Exchange in the Domestic Terminal. And ATMs?, yes there are, but not on the Gate side. darn it! I always like to have some local cash in my pocket.

About 45 minutes late, the plane was called for boarding. Now reflect back to my Delhi to Hong Kong flight with the large Indian man. I don’t know if I have upset the booking gods?, or maybe I should have bought a good luck token from one of the many temples I have visited, however a Chinese man literally squeezed into his seat and it was the metal sided ones again. “Bing! Fasten Seats please!”.. Not a chance. He stood up again to find the seat belt he was sitting on and I did help him, by holding one side as he levered himself back in. He got the buckles to within a foot from each other. Still holding the one buckle I said, “Not today Sunshine”. He had been here before and asked for the extension belt. It’s the one that the Stewardesses do the demo with.

The change inside 24 hours from Japanese to Chinese was striking. Everyone on the plane was now Chinese and they have a more ‘can’t wait’ approach to things. If they have a window seat, they just step over whoever is there rather than waiting the person to get up. I noticed at the Gate the ‘Flight ready for boarding call’ was more like a Grand National Start and after landing and the usual announcement “We will be taxiing to the gate so remain seated with your seat belts fastened…” All you could hear was “Click, Click, Click, Click, Click” as all the belts unlatched one after another.

The Tokyo travellers were led onto a separate bus and into another quiet part of another quiet airport and straight to the Belt. I was thinking, I am now 90 minutes late for my car, fat chance. I was first of the Tokyo 10 to be out through Customs and I peered down the line of waiting Chinamen…but, there he was! with a board with the correct spelling of my name and he was dressed in his Red Bell Boy outfit. The driver was next to him. I was so pleased to see him that I shook his hand.

Within an hour I was in the Hotel with a Pint in my hand and the iPad open ready to Blog. My little issue is that China doesn’t like western blogging, so I am blog-blocked unless I send it by email to the boys and then get them to post. For an amazing city in a country that holds 19% of the worlds population there are still a lot of issues to resolve before it takes part in the big new world, unless of course it can do without us. I’ll reserve judgement as I the aim is to get to know a bit of China’s real past which should be exciting.

I am supposed to be very central to things here, but when I have risen at a leisurely hour tomorrow I will go exploring.