There was one part of our trip that Larry had not been told about until the train ride from Hong Kong to Shenzhen. That’s when he learned that we were flying to Beijing the next day, the fifth day of our trip. We had another wild taxi ride to the Shenzhen airport. The documents Wyatt got from the currier who delivered our plane tickets said that we should catch our flight on Shenzhen Airlines in Terminal 1 of the Shenzhen airport. When we got to the airport, we were told we needed to go to Terminal 2 to catch our flight.
The good news is that Terminal 2 was within easy walking distance, but lack of sleep and general disorientation set my mind to producing anxiety about catching this flight. It was in this mindset that we got our boarding passes, went through security and were walking to our gate when a man ran past us, obviously late for his flight. (In China you must check in at least 45 minutes before your flight leaves, and be ready to board at the gate 15 minutes before your flight leaves. If you are late, you very well might not get on the plane.) Wyatt lives much more on the edge of life than I do, and is a much bigger risk-taker. When the man ran past us, Wyatt said, “I hate feeling like that guy.” I said, “When I travel with you, I always feel like that guy!”
The plane ride on Shenzhen Airlines was the most pleasant one I’ve had in many, many years. There’s enough legroom for legs. A real honest-to-goodness meal was served on the 3.5 hour flight. The flight attendants were engaged with the passengers, and even conducted a stretching exercise session for us to participate in before we landed in Beijing. And we all got a breath mint just before we landed. We suspect that the employees aren’t paid very well, and that’s why the airline can afford to make flying a pleasure.
We got our luggage and found a cab. Wyatt discovered the cab had no meter, not an uncommon thing. The problem with that is, there’s no way to verify that we’re not getting ripped off. So Wyatt and the cabbie haggled over the price. They decided on 100 Chinese Yuan. Then as we started to drive away, the price went up to 150 Yuan. More haggling. The price agreed on was 110 Yuan.
It was another wild cab ride. Do you see a theme with our cab rides? After passing by many blocks of the largest and most unattractive hotels I’ve ever seen (we called it Hotel Alley) that were built for the 2008 Olympics, I was surprised to see we were on the street between Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. We took a left on the street that runs west of Tiananmen Square, and shortly we were at our hotel. Wyatt had booked us at the Far East Hotel, which is in the historical district of Beijing.
If you ever go to Beijing, I would recommend this hotel. It’s within walking distance to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. They take credit cards. It’s very affordable. It’s also has a hostel if you want to go that route. What I loved the most about it is that’s in the heart of an accumulation of hutongs.
The hutongs are narrow alleys that wind and weave throughout a neighborhood. They contain dwellings, restaurants, retail stores, laundries, barbershops, and any other establishment that make up a community. I was struck by the intimacy of the hutongs. They are so narrow and the buildings all touch each other.
We went for a walk after we got settled in. We walked to Tiananmen Square where the two groups of young people were quite taken with Larry’s beard; they wanted their picture with Larry. He, of course, cheerfully obliged.
After we left Tiananmen Square, we headed down one of the hutongs. The smells of the hutongs were the first impression I had of them. First, the public toilet. And there were a lot of them. Not such a good smell. Then a laundry. A better smell. And someone cooking on an outdoor grill. A much better smell.
We wandered the hutongs for a long time before we realized that we really weren’t sure where we were. We knew we hadn’t crossed the narrow street where our hotel was located. But the hutongs turn and weave. We weren’t sure what direction we were heading.
So we kept walking. It was getting dark. Suddenly we were on our street, in front of a restaurant about 100 yards from our hotel. Wyatt said, “Let’s eat here.”
I think that’s when I fell in love with the hutongs.
Wikipedia on hutongs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutong
The best web site I can find that references the Far East Hotel:
http://www.sinohotelguide.com/detail_index.php?Hotel_ID=BJAH0094&City_ID=BJA&City_Cname=Bei%20Jing&City_Lname=beijing
So much fun and so much action!! Love reading about your trip!
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