A smooth arrival, a memorable customs check, whistle‑stop visits to the Bird’s Nest, the Summer Palace, and the Lama Temple, followed by an early collapse after 38 hours awake.
We touched down in Beijing at around 06:50, and immigration couldn’t have been easier. The airport was vast but impressively well run.
I still remember the customs girl with a particular fondness. She knelt in front of me, smiling up as she patted down my legs and around my crutch. Had she continued much further, she might have discovered something entirely unintended hidden in my underwear.
Beijing Tour.
Because we couldn’t check into the hotel until the afternoon, our luggage was sent ahead while we set off for a morning of sightseeing.
The Bird’s Nest Stadium.
Our first stop was the National Stadium, the Bird’s Nest, famous from the Beijing Olympics. We didn’t go inside; it was a simple hop‑off, take a few photos, hop back on again sort of visit.
The Summer Palace.
We spent around 2½ hours wandering the Summer Palace. The grounds were beautiful, and the scale of the man‑made lake is astonishing when you consider the labour it must have taken to build.
I walked the Long Corridor and passed several buildings on the way to lunch at the Ting Li Guan restaurant. Our group was split between two tables, and girls in traditional Chinese dress served a selection of dishes arranged on a lazy Susan. The food was excellent, but the heat and humidity were something else: no air conditioning, not even a fan, so we ate in what felt like a slow cooker.
After lunch, we explored a few nearby buildings before visiting the Marble Boat on Kunming Lake. We then crossed the lake on a beautifully decorated dragon boat before rejoining the coach.
The Lama Temple.
Our next stop was the Yonghe (Lama) Temple, home to a series of impressive Buddhas. What struck me was the number of visitors who clearly had no understanding of Buddhism but were buying incense sticks anyway. They didn’t light them, just placed the whole bundle, still tied together, into a tray outside the temple. I imagine they’re collected, dusted off, and sold again tomorrow.
The final Buddha was the most spectacular: carved from a single tree, filling the entire building. It rose 80 metres above ground and extended another 80 metres below, an extraordinary sight.
Traders Hotel.
We reached our hotel around 14:30, and most of us collapsed for a quick nap before the evening’s welcome drink and dinner. I showered, set up my computer, and Skyped my mum. I tried to post the day’s photos on Farcebook, only to discover it’s blocked in China. Thankfully, my website wasn’t, so the holiday snaps still made it online.
Dinner was an excellent Chinese meal served around a lazy Susan. The bar beer was ¥45 for less than half a pint, so I wandered to a nearby shop and picked up four cans of Budweiser for ¥35.
Back in my room, I planned to watch some football with a cold beer, but by 20:45, I was out cold. After 38 hours awake and travelling halfway around the world to a continent I’d never visited, it felt like a strong start to the holiday.
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