As some of you know, this past week was Chinese New Year, the main holiday for the Taiwanese (much like our Christmas sans all the lights and the tree). It is the time when every Taiwanese ventures back to their hometown to spend a week drinking, eating and setting off non-stop fireworks with family. It really sounds great until you are woken up or spooked at all hours – literally all hours – of the day by random acts of firework mischief. Even this morning which was supposed to mark the end of the New Year, I was forced to bob a potentially harmful display of pink sparks that seemed to appear out of nowhere as I was walking down the ally to work. But back to the point - Beijing!
So it was decided that Beijing would be my New Years getaway a few weeks ago when I heard that my cousin Cameron would be travelling there as well (he is currently teaching English in the South of China). Now, the original plan was to go to Thailand (would have been nice - hot weather, drinks on the beach yada yada), but due to some visa issues Cam couldn’t make it out of China. I figured the beach could wait. How many chances do you get to meet up with family across the globe?
So it was set – I was off to China to meet Cam and his two friends. I also managed to convince (well, it didn’t take much convincing), my friend Mandy to come along too –
Me: “Hey, so I think I’m going to China for New Years.”
Mandy: “Oh China would be amazing.”
Me: “Do you want to come?!”
Mandy: “Uh yes! Well, you better give me the evening to think about it.” (1 hour later) “We’re going to China!”
So we were up early last Saturday morning. One of the managers at my parent company was heading to the airport as well so he kindly offered to pick us up in the company car (a privilege I have not been awarded yet).
We made it to the airport, and for those of you who have read my other travel stories, this one won’t be as interesting because the next few hours went as smooth as ice. From ordering a rush visa, to the stop over in Hong Kong and then finally the cab ride up to the doors of our hostel, something about travelling with Mandy kept me out of any travel trouble which was nice for once.
First steps off the plane at the Beijing airport. It was chillllllly!
After about a 30 minute cab ride we arrived at the Forbidden City Hostel (chosen by Cam’s friend Liam) on Saturday night which was too late to see much, but were greeted by a few fun surprises.
A view of our hostel from across the road.
First off, after pulling the corner around our hostel we realized that we were literally steps away from the Forbidden City, and Tian’amen Square – pretty cool. Our little hostel was also a nice treat. They had a lovely little café downstairs that served great breakfast – we ended up eating there each morning before trekking out. The rooms were also…interesting. Mandy and I swung open the door to our little room and were greeted by a big round pink and red bed to share, with a slanted roof and mirrors on the ceiling. I didn’t think it was meant to be shared by two straight friends, but whatever. We got a good laugh…and a number of comfy sleeps.
Try and figure those angles out.
It was around 10:00pm on Saturday night when we got settled in and since our last airplane meal had left us a little less than satisfied, we decided to head out into the cold to find a place to eat. We definitely lucked out when we found this cute little restaurant around the corner that was seemed to be the late night hang out spot for the locals to grab a beer and a bite. The food was great (we ended up eating there a few times over the course of the trip) and we met an old artist who casually sketched pictures of Mandy I as we ate. He ended up paying for us as well. We thanked him and the restaurant staff and decided to tuck in for the night so that we would be bounds full of energy for a full day of…well, we didn’t know yet but whatever it was, it would be great!
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