23 May, 2017
The hotel is a bit different from the decor that we usually choose but anything will be better than our Wendy Wu chosen hotels. The bed was a little harder than we usually like but we slept OK. Breakfast is very good for Chinese standards but the breakfast room is a bit small so finding a free table is a bit of a challenge.
Today we plan to just walk around the neighbourhood and also see if we can work out the metro system as a station is just around the corner and getting to the National Museum will be easier by train.
We also need to get the usual provisions of beer, wine and chocolate….
The first thing that is obvious about Beijing is the heavy traffic and the lack of bicycle traffic.
Apparently bicycles are being dumped where the rider gets off. Now the streets are clogged with traffic and the noise and smell is revolting.
We walk the main block which is about 3 km in total and check out local restaurants, subway locations and markets. Buying tickets on the subway is pretty easy and very cheap so we will take the train to the Beijing Zoo to see the Pandas in the morning and return via the National Museum at Tian’anmen Square tomorrow afternoon.
We returned with some essential supplies such as Beer, Snickers bars and moisturiser for Lynn.
It is starting to get a bit hot this afternoon so I go a few rounds with the Chinese Internet and Lynn sits in the courtyard and catches up on some reading.
Tonight we headed just down the end of the alley way to a local restaurant that states that they cater for Foreigners. No English spoken here but you can order by pictures. I order some salt and pepper prawns (shrimp) and some fired rice (with beer) and Lynn orders some form of vegetarian pancake. Much to our surprise the salt and pepper prawns come done in a salt and pepper batter as you would expect but unshelled including the heads. How the hell can you eat these without removing the salt and pepper batter to remove the shells, legs and heads? So much for catering to foreigners. I send them back and order sweet and sour pork instead. Since the picture did not show the prawns as unshelled I also refused to pay for the prawns much to the annoyance of the waitress.
We walk back to the hotel via an ice cream shop for our daily fix.
24 May, 2017
It’s going to be hot today with an expected 35 deg. C. The plan is to go to Beijing Zoo this morning and see the Giant Pandas before hitting the National Museum during the heat of the afternoon. Then back for a cold beer.
No problem navigating the subway system. Trains run every couple of minutes and the ticketing system and the train information is available in English. Easy as …
First stop…. the Zoo.
Straight in to see the Giant Pandas before the main crowds arrive. It was still a bit of an issue trying to see them. As soon as you managed to get to the front to take a photo you would be shoved out of the way.
We were surprised by the lack of animals in the enclosures. There were plenty of exhibits but most of then were empty or dilapidated. We saw more animals in Gratz zoo in Austria.
Many of the enclosures were in bad shape or inappropriate for the animals. The Polar Bear had no pool and was panting hard in the heat. The kangaroo enclosure was all dirt and the food seemed to be cabbage and carrot. Looks like even Australian Animals can’t get decent food in China.
By 1:00 pm it is way too hot to be walking around the zoo. Most of the local Chinese visitors are either sitting under the trees or in the many cafes. Not too many people actually looking at the animals. I think that this is a day out to get away from the noise, heat and concrete of the city rather than a specific visit to see the animals.
Lucky that the subway is right at the Zoo entrance so we head down away from the heat and buy our tickets for the trip to Tian’anmen East station. We pop up on the wrong side of the street but get some directions from a Police Officer (who didn’t actually know where the National Museum was until a colleague pointed it out, straight across the road to where we were standing).
The museum building is huge but unfortunately they don’t have any maps in English and the staff have no idea where things are. Just another example of the old Chinese 75% approach.
We did enjoy the museum and spent a bit of time checking out their coin collection, bronze objects etc. We could have spent more time here but after 6 hours without sitting down and walking in the heat it was definitely approaching beer o’clock. A quick subway ride home and a cold beer goes down very well.
Dinner will be in the hotel tonight and then we will pack for the fast train to Shanghai in the morning.
25 May, 2017
A smooth taxi ride to Beijing South Railway station and we boarded the fast train to Shanghai at 11:00 am. 3 stops later and we are in Shanghai 4 minutes ahead of schedule at 15:50. Most of the train trip was at 300 kph. Much nicer than flying.
The traffic from the railway station to the hotel was painfully slow but we checked in at about 5:00 pm and our room is very nice, the bed is soft and we are within walking distance to the metro and the Bund.
There is no plan to go out this evening just dinner at the hotel, unpack and do some planning for out Shanghai visit. The hotel has a very nice outside bar area on the 4th floor with a good view of the city at night. Tomorrow we will explore the city and see what has changed since I was last here some 14 years ago.
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