Start of our Travels

We have finally reached the UK, and have access to a computer to update our blog. We are in Newcastle, and Richard has gone up to St. Andrews (a 4-5 hour drive away) to see if he can get a game of golf there. He left with his dad at about 3.30 this morning.

Anyway, travels so far. Beijing was absolutely amazing. We saw amazing sights, and walked amazing distances (we have dubbed our trip the Great Walk of China). All of Beijing has either been, or is being, renovated. All in aid of the Olympics next year. So most of the temples were looking really good. The part of the Great Wall we walked on had been renovated, but it was still pretty steep and the steps were all different heights and sizes, which made the going a bit tough. It took us one and a half hours to get to the top of the section we walked (I think it was called the Ju Dong pass). It's taken a good couple of days for our legs to recover.

Almost everywhere we went there were street vendors trying to sell us anything from Beijing Olympic shirts and caps, to Chairman Mao books to Gucci handbags (yeah right). We did buy a lot of stuff, but never liked the bargaining part of the purchase. They would start at 200 Yuan, and you would end up buying it for 50 Yuan. They were very very persistant and relucant to take no for an answer to say the least.

We were stared at everywhere we went. Not really because we were European tourists, but because of the kids. The boys (mostly Caleb) were constantly told they were lovely and beautiful (obviously they didn't know them very well). Quite a few people wanted photos with them (and sometimes us too). We went to Tiananmen Square one morning to watch the raising of the flag (us and 20,000 other people), and were swamped by teenage girls wanting photos with the kids.

We had a two day tour around most of the major sights (Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Hutong area on rickshaws, Ming Tombs, Great Wall). The tour company is run by the Government and the guide also took us to Government run factories (Jade, Silk, fresh water pearls, and porcelian) where we were also kind of expected to buy stuff. Then we had two days to our selves, so we went to a couple of markets, Lama Temple, Confusius Temple, another richshaw ride through the Hutong (traditional living) area, and walks through parks, up Coal Hill (a man made hill made from dirt from the moat around the Forbidden City) and managed to find restaurants to feed us.

Most things were very cheap. Food was always very nice, even the kids could usually find something they would eat.

The hotel was lovely. We had two separate rooms, but it worked out alright with the kids being quite happy to sleep separate from us. Every morning we had a fantastic cooked breakfast. There was an indoor pool that the kids used heaps. It was also a good bargaining tool (if you keep walking you'll be able to have a swim when we get back).

The weather was very nice, around 30-33 degrees C. If you looked straight up the sky was blue, but around the edges you could always see the gray haze of the smog.

I must make a mention of the toilets. It is a smell I will never forget. The first public toilet I went in to was a 4-star (tourist rated) toilet, so I thought it would be okay. Wrong. It did have some western style toilets, as opposed to the squat toilets, but the sewage system can't handle the paper so people wipe and put the paper in the basket beside the toilet. I suppose at least this one had paper and soap, some didn't. The smell is absolutely disgusting, and the probable hygiene isn't worth thinking about.

But apart from that Beijing was absolutely fanastic. We would recommend it to anyone, and would love to go back there ourselves one day. It will be interesting to see the affect all the tourism from the Olympics have on the City.

Sorry, but I can't get the camera to work on this computer. Richard maybe able to put some photos on when he gets back.