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Our
departure date had finally arrived. We were up early for our 7:30
a.m. flight to Detroit and arrived at the airport about 4:30 a.m.
With the increased security following the September 11th attacks
the added time was necessary. Arriving as early as we did Northwest
rebooked us on an earlier flight which would give us a little more
time in Detroit. I didn't object as I knew we could spend the time
relaxing in the Northwest Worldperks Club. After a 3 hour layover
in Detroit we boarded our flight for Beijing and settled into our
seats for what would be one of the longest legs of the trip, about
13 hours in the air. There's one thing to be said for these early
flights. When you finally get on them you're so tired from getting
up so early it makes it easy to sleep. That was true of this flight.
I slept much of the way which shortened the eternity of the flight
considerably. By the time we arrived in Beijing we were tired, but
still awake and excited enough to enjoy our first sights of the
city.
Anne
and I didn't quite know what to expect of Beijing. Having been on
two one-day excursions to mainland China previously we had a some
expectations, however, we hadn't visited a large city and didn't
know how our expectations would compare. I must admit, I, for one,
was surprised by how modern Beijing was. It wasn't at all like I
expected and that was proven as soon as we arrived. The airport
was modern and beautiful with all the amenities you'd expect to
find in a modern airport, but that wasn't the most surprising thing.
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first thing that caught my eye and surprised me happened on the ride
from the airport. As expected we found modern, well-maintained highways
with manicured medians and lots of traffic. But the surprise was when
the bus pulled up to a toll booth with Chinese architecture. First
I didn't expect a toll booth and certainly not one with Chinese architecture,
but it was a way of letting us know we were no longer at home and
had journeyed to a far off land with a completely different culture.
The airport and toll booth were the first of many surprises we would
find in Beijing ... a wonderful city to begin your tour of China in. |
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Chinese
Toll Booth |
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Jing
Guang New World Hotel |
Arriving
at our hotel we found it to be modern, attractive and situated in
an area full of activity. The hotel was obviously geared toward the
western traveler and had all the bells and whistles you would expect
to find at home including satellite TV. Even though we were tired
we fought the urge to crawl into bed and forced ourselves to walk
to the local market about ten minutes away, of course taking pictures
along the way. |
Beijing
is a city of many bicycles |
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A
small open-air market |
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Tree-lined
streets, crowded parking |
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Public
telephones |
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Bicycle
repair shop |
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Resident's
chair |
Hanging
wash to dry |
Returning
from the market |
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After
our short walk to the market we returned to the hotel and, believe,
it or not sought out something to eat. The hotel had seven restaurants
to choose from and we chose a western style restaurant for our first
meal. It was a good choice because we would definitely be getting
our fill of Chinese food over the next 3 weeks. The meal was delicious
and the service excellent. It seems that China, with its large population
and low labor cost, knows the meaning of service. Often several
waitresses and waiters were assigned to each table insuring excellent
attention to every detail.
Following
dinner it was off to bed to get a good night's rest in preparation
for our first day of touring the next morning. The drawback of any
organized tour ... you don't make your own schedule. You have to
live within the schedule they set and, unfortunately, they like
to begin early in the morning. We had no trouble getting to sleep.
The only complaint is that our room was set with two twin beds instead
of the king we are accustomed to, but we managed to not fall out
of the bed.
Continue
to the next page to begin our tour of Beijing at Tiananmen Square
and the Imperial Palace.
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