Arrival at Beijing

The temperature is so much cooler here than in Hong Kong - no humidity! But I feel like as we were walking down Wangfujing that I'm being bitten everywhere. I am so tired from the early morning flight and just finding the hostel and the tour place. Now finally those things are done and I can start to relax and enjoy, afterall this is the leg of the trip that I planned! The hostel is nice, the bathroom and the room is clean enough for $17 a night downtown Beijing. The location is amazing so I am glad this worked out. This is the first time staying at a hostel and I already appreciate good western cleaniless! I don't think I am cut out for the bush at all and I am starting to be so thankful that we are travelling in mostly 4 and 5 star hotels this trip, save the HK and Singapore parts where we are staying at rich relatives' places. That leaves only Beijing and Bangkok for hostelling...thank goodness. I am not sure I am a traveller, or maybe just not this grungy kind. I brought no skirts, no frills and no heels and I totally sport the Jane Goodall MEC look. Comfort above all else here. I think this will be really good for me, to be away from technology (haha save the fact that I am already using the Internet first night at the hostel!) and away from beauty stuff. I was so self conscious in HK, much less here so probably because I feel more like a tourist.

I think I am still adjusting to being in Asia, with the heat and just the environment. I don't know if I am truly really enjoying it yet, coming thus far to Beijing has been a relief to me because I was responsible for this part. I remind myself that it has only been a week, so it's not bad. Still though, I am kind of looking forward to the day of being back home. My clean, green, and most of all, familiar home. Bah...only to leave again of course after three weeks. Needless to say, I miss home.

Each day so far has been like a hundred days like Sean said it would be. I have had a billion thoughts about everything.

Beijing is really international, from the people at the airport to the people around me right now at the hostel. I love that. I think taxi drivers here are the craziest, even more so than HK because so many people bike here, and taxies just cut in front of bikers. I originally thought it would be cool to bike here but now I think we would just die, I still feel scared when I cross the street. The city is much cleaner than I anticipated and the streets are super wide, kind of like Washington D.C. I think with all the pandemics and health problems, all of China, especially the big cities, improved in their sanitation.

Thank goodness!

I do feel like I am absorbing more Cantonese and Mandarin, thank goodness Jenny is here and knows how to speak mandarin and read Chinese. So far, we all get along and the dynamics are working out. Jenny and I spent yesterday afternoon together and I feel like we bonded. I hope to have similar experiences with Tiff and Yo, so I think it will be okay. I talked to Jenny about it too, my original (and still) hesitations about coming on this trip.

Already I have a greater appreciation of home and an admiration for meandering travellers.