We arrived safely in Beijing on the 17th and it was so great to have Susanna's brother, Andrew, meet us at the train station and take us to his apartment where we were to stay for the next week - and oh, what an apartment. Maybe it was the combination of having to travel for 6 weeks staying in random hostels together with eating unusual food, or maybe it was just we were hot and tired but, whatever - it felt like an oasis, the closest thing to home yet. Clean bathroom, large living room, food to eat in the kitchen.... sigh!
When we found our feet, we did venture out of the apartment though! That first night, we had dinner at the Drum and Gong restaurant in the Nuanluogu hutong and, over the last week we have eaten at some other really great restaurants too.
There is a lot to see in Beijing and we had to resign ourselves to the fact that we simply couldn't see it all. What we did see (through all the smog - mm, nice) was very cool - TianTan (The Temple of Heaven), the Forbidden City and Tian anmen Square, the Confucious Temple, and the Drum and Bell Towers were all rather splendid. We also got to do our fair share of shopping at the 798 Art District and some of the cool markets here - Yashow and the Zoo market were pretty impressive.
Probably the highlight of our trip though was not seeing something in Beijing itself but getting out of the city to Mutianyu to walk along the Great Wall of China! It was incredible. It was pretty hot but it wasn't as crowded as we had thought and even with the people around, there was a sense of peaceful magnificence. We walked all the way off the restored section of the wall to a point of "wild" wall and it was just so cool to be there. Afterwards, we had lunch at this really great social enterprise, the Schoolhouse Restaurant, and got to see some of the glass blowing they did there too.
For now, though, it's time to say good bye to Beijing and hello to New Zealand! So, for the moment our travels are over but we will still keep you updated about our next big adventure in NZ... watch this space.
When we found our feet, we did venture out of the apartment though! That first night, we had dinner at the Drum and Gong restaurant in the Nuanluogu hutong and, over the last week we have eaten at some other really great restaurants too.
There is a lot to see in Beijing and we had to resign ourselves to the fact that we simply couldn't see it all. What we did see (through all the smog - mm, nice) was very cool - TianTan (The Temple of Heaven), the Forbidden City and Tian anmen Square, the Confucious Temple, and the Drum and Bell Towers were all rather splendid. We also got to do our fair share of shopping at the 798 Art District and some of the cool markets here - Yashow and the Zoo market were pretty impressive.
Probably the highlight of our trip though was not seeing something in Beijing itself but getting out of the city to Mutianyu to walk along the Great Wall of China! It was incredible. It was pretty hot but it wasn't as crowded as we had thought and even with the people around, there was a sense of peaceful magnificence. We walked all the way off the restored section of the wall to a point of "wild" wall and it was just so cool to be there. Afterwards, we had lunch at this really great social enterprise, the Schoolhouse Restaurant, and got to see some of the glass blowing they did there too.
For now, though, it's time to say good bye to Beijing and hello to New Zealand! So, for the moment our travels are over but we will still keep you updated about our next big adventure in NZ... watch this space.
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