Beijing

On out way to Mongolia, we stopped off in Beijing. We only spent a few hours in the airport and only left the international wing long enough to go through paperwork. We didn’t see much of anything. On the way back, we spent a night in town.

A few decades ago I visited China a part of an education-based tour group through my university. At that time, Beijing was a third world country with a broken asphalt road between the airport and the rest of the city. I remember donkey carts, peddled carts, impossible loads, and bicycles everywhere.

Things have changed.

1. There are no where near as many bicycles and a lot more cars.

2. Seriously. A lot more cars. I don’t remember a single overpass before.

3. They’ve added some safety features.

4. But managed to keep some of the old flavor.

5. Even in things that are clearly new.

6. And there are still the occasional impossible loads.

7. I only saw one or two family units on bicycle. I still vividly remember a beautiful Chinese woman in silks riding on the rack behind her husband while holding their baby as they peddled through heavy bicycle traffic years ago. I always wish I’d taken a picture

8. The view from our room wasn’t much. The air was thick with smog most of the time we were there.

9. I’ve already shown the window between the sleeping area and the bathroom, but check out the shower. At first I thought the lifted tile was broken. It moved under toe. But it turned out to be the drain.

10. They gave us a double bed at first. We asked for singles, and they moved us.

11. I’m not sure because I don’t read Chinese, but I think that blue pill on the left on the bathroom counter is Viagra. At $65 a pill, I hope it’s worth it.

12. The airport was so spacious they could set up little stores like this all through out the halls.

13. At one point I looked out the window to see a bus drive under where I was sitting, waiting for a plane to arrive. Through a combination of weather and politics, we missed our connection in the USA twice.