Trip to Beijing and Xi'an

Ken is working off and on in China and so we decided to take a week and visit Beijing.

 The first thing to know, is to bring a mask.  The pollution is horrible and a mask is a necessity unless you want to get a respiratory infection.  The second thing you need to know if you are taking this trip is to be sure you have your hotel's name and direction written in Mandarin before you land.  You will need this for the cab driver.

After 12 hours in transit we arrived at the Beijing airport and went to grab a cab.  Along the way we had several people ask if we need a cab.  Do NOT ever go with these people.  They will take you to their car which is technically a limo service.  They will charge you 4-8 times the cost of a regular cab.  If you follow the directions for a taxi you will arrive at an area that has two different lines.  One is the regular taxi line and the other is for "special" cars that you will need to negotiate your price.  Again, this second line will cost you considerably more. Make sure you know which line you are in before hand.  We got to the hotel and went to dinner with a coworker of Ken's.

Saturday we went on a full day tour.  We started the day at the Great Wall where we took a long walk and then went down to the bottom on a toboggan.  After lunch we went to the Forbidden City and an acrobats show.

Part of the toboggan ride

Chairlift to The Great Wall

On the wall with Ken's coworkers

They were filming scenes for a movie.  Rumor is it was for Transformers.  I liked this because there is a Texas longhorns emblem on some of the equipment. 

 When we went to the Forbidden city we stopped out front to take a picture.  EVERYONE got out their cameras to take this picture.  At least 20 people had their camera's out taking pictures of the crazy people.

Sunday was our one pollution free day in Beijing.  We went to the park across from the Forbidden city for a great view of the Forbidden City then we went to Silk Street. Ken and I were in Beijing in 1999 and the silk street market was extremely different.  When we first went to Silk Street is was a bunch of stalls along the street.  This time it was more like a permanent fleamarket inside a 5 story building.  Just not the same feel as before.

 We did some general touring of Beijing and a friend of a friend took me to several places the local expats go.  We found a few items we can not get in India and brought back a suitcase full of goodies.  It was a completely different experience going on a trip to China and knowing someone who is living there versus simply touring the city.  With such a large network of expat friends, I think I will have more trips where I will know a person in the city or at least a friend of a friend, and in expat circles, that makes you a friend.

McDonalds across from the Silk Street Market  

 Ken and I did not see the Terra Cotta Warriors when we toured in 1999 so we decided on Tuesday to book a trip to Xian.  We booked the overnight sleeper train for Thursday evening, toured Xian on Friday and took the overnight sleeper train back Friday night for a flight back to Bangalore on Saturday afternoon.  It was a whirlwind trip that was fantastic.  Ken and the boys all say the Terra Cotta Warriors were the highlight of the entire trip to China.

 After seeing the Terra Cotta Warriors, we went to the city center of Xi'an and rode around the top of the original city wall.  It took us just over an hour to complete the circuit without a break.  Ken and I decide to ride a two person bike.

After the day in Xi'an we rode the sleeper train back to Beijing.  The next day the three of us left Beijing leaving Ken for one more week.  It is definitely a place I highly recommend visiting but I don't think I could ever live there with all the pollution.