In order to get cheap air fares, I look a late night flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Because of my late arrival, taking a cab was my only option for transportation. I stopped at the airport convenience store to get some snacks for dinner for that night. Even at the late hour, the cab lines were extremely long. I waited for probably 45 minutes for a taxi. China was a culture shift for me after being in Sri Lanka. Zero English was spoken around me, and nobody tried to talk to me. As I finally approached the taxi stand, I could see the dread of the locals as I approached because they knew there was a slim chance I spoke their language. I really wish I could have surprised them, but sadly their assumptions were correct. I’d love to study the language some day. I’d printed off Chinese directions to my hotel because I knew the taxi driver wouldn’t speak English. The note included the phone number, so he had to call them to find out exactly where it was. He started off pretty grumpy to me, but after a pleasant ride and a good tip, he changed his tune. Why not be nice? He’s working late nights, right?

I had remaining Starwood points and was running low on my cash, so I decided my time in China would be spent in Starwood hotels, moving from place to place trying to get the next level of status. The first stop was on the northeast side of the city closer to the airport: The Great Wall Sheraton. The hotel staff spoke little English. They tried to put me in a room with two queen beds, which I didn’t believe I’d booked (looking back I actually had…oops). Since they didn’t have any others available with only a king bed, they upgraded me to a suite. It was so late, I think they decided to give me somebody else’s suite. I had fruit and a personalized card made out to Dr. Andrees Naisel. The rooms were outdated, but they appeared to be quite grand back in the day.

I found China to be hard on me for several reasons. This was my last stop in my long Asian journey (at least this one). I was very sad to be returning home, and at the same time I was ready to be home. Almost five months of living out of a backpack and sleeping in questionable hostels was coming to and end, and I found myself rather sad about it. I wasn’t ready to go back to my hectic lifestyle. Secondly, I was facing the reality of what to do professionally when I returned home. I had the plans of reaching out to some of my network while in China, but the government’s internet restrictions made that difficult (no Google products or Facebook). I also struggled with the fact that I had very little communication with the local people. All other places I hadn’t needed a translator, but looking back I think my time in China would have been better if I’d hired one or pre-arranged trips with Chinese-English speaking friends. I’d tried to visit with a friend in Qingdao, but unfortunately she was in France when I was in China. Most countries I visit, I find the locals smiling and trying to help me. I have a lot of Chinese friends, but I’m sad to say the Chinese that I encountered during my time in Beijing weren’t very friendly. For example, in elevators I would try to have basic conversation (in their language), and I couldn’t even get people to acknowledge me standing next to them. I don’t think the intention was to be rude, but I believe there is a major culture difference (compared to the good old USA midwestern states). I’m sure in USA though, we unknowingly make foreigners feel the same way. The amount of smog also depressed me.

After my late night arrival, I lounged that morning and started to map out my time in China. The top two out of the top 30 things to do in Lonely Planet’s China were located in or surrounding Beijing: Forbidden City and Great Wall. After reading, I decided it’d be best to book a tour to a portion of the mighty Great Wall. Although I normally try to avoid organized tours, I found a strong desire to have an English translator and smooth transportation. I booked the tour for the next morning, and then I walked around the surrounding area. I found a yummy dumpling place for lunch (with the much needed menu pictures, so I could order by pointing). The young girl was very friendly and helpful to me. I continued to walk through the area and surrounding parks. I stopped by a 7-11 store to get some snacks for the evening to enjoy a night in the hotel to catch up on blog posts and get my upcoming flights booked.

The next morning I did the Great Wall tour. I’d heard about the Mutianyu section. It is known for distinctive and unique charm. We circled through the city to get the other tourists from their hotels. Once the bus was full, our first stop was the site of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. We saw the Water Cube (where Michael Phelps got eight medals) and the Bird’s Nest Stadium. Then we headed to the Great Wall. It was farther away than I originally expected. The tour guide talked the whole bus ride and several of his stories were quite annoying. As we pulled up to the wall, I was impressed (even from a far distance). I’d always heard about it’s greatness in size, but it truly is incredible to see it in person. Per a survey on wikipedia, the wall stretches 13,171 miles (21,196 km). It is on top of the mountain peaks, and I can’t imagine the number of people that died building it. Although I met some friends on the bus, I enjoyed the solo journey walking on the wall. After the heavy smog in the city, the air in the mountains seemed refreshing. The sky was blue, and the guide said it was very unusual (even out there it is normally smoggy). On the way home, we stopped by a tea shop.

After two nights, I transferred across town to the Aloft Beijing, Haidian and then after two nights transferred across the street to the Four Points by Sheraton Beijing. During this time I explored Beijing. I walked through the Forbidden City. It has great history, but the actual buildings and area were so dusty and worn down compared to the Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul. I was disappointed with the place. It was so crowded and expensive, and I’d walked so much that day I was quite grumpy (so that probably didn’t help my mood). I also saw Tiananmen Square and the Temple of Heaven Park as well as some of the other standard attractions.

Out of the three Starwood hotels I stayed in during my time in Bejing, I liked the Four Points by Sheraton Beijing the best. I was ready to leave Beijing and make my way to Shanghai.