The past 7 days in Beijing
December 13th, 2009,Tags: culture, explore, food, fun, travelPosted in Beijing by natasha lai
In Beijing, people throw trash on the ground everywhere; I actually looked forward to spotting a trash bin in public! In restaurants and air-conditioned areas, people smoke too. That was something that bugged me a lot especially since I have a pretty sensitive nose.
Ironically, there was once my friends and I stepped into the hotel elevator and there was a heavy cigarette smoke smell in the air. One of my friends made a face in reaction to the smell and I realised that I did not notice the smell until I saw my friend’s expression. It seems that I had become accustomed to the smell although I detest it. The smell is definitely something I will not miss when I return to Singapore, my clean and green Singapore. Looking forward to the fresh air there!!~
The first few days of the stay in Beijing, I was struggling to adapt to the cold, the oily Chinese food and the packed itinerary. We were visiting 3 companies a day with networking dinners on 2 of the days. This made me very tired so I did not go out to explore the town. However, from the 4th day we were in Beijing, I managed to go out with the others to see the sights and learn about the cultural differences between China and Singapore.
On Thursday we went to a shopping mall and then took a cab to Wang Fu Jin which is a food street in Beijing. However, since it was late and the shops were all closed, my friends and I walked to Tiananmen Square which holds a significant amount of China’s history. Although it was really cold, we spent some time taking photos in front of the main gate at Tiananmen Square. In fact, there were a few guards on patrol however they were not bothered with us since we weren’t making trouble.
On Friday after dinner, we went to a pub to see how it was different from the ones in Singapore. I was intrigued that although they had live bands playing inside the pubs, their music was blasted outside the pubs, to attract people to patronise them and even the pub staff were trying to get us to go into the pubs. With so many pubs on that one street, we took some time to find a suitable one.
After spending some time chatting and chilling in the pub, we decided to head back to the hotel. Some of us however, went to a KTV lounge near the hotel to sing karaoke! J We wanted to make the most of our time in Beijing before we left the city on Sunday.
On Saturday morning we had to rise early as we were going to visit the Great Wall of China! J It is a place that everyone must go if they are in Beijing! Despite the cold and chilly weather, many of us braved the winds and climbed up along one stretch of the 6000km-long wall, taking many pictures along the way. By the time we headed back down, my toes and feet were numb and hurt because of the cold. I also found out that eating a hot grilled sausage on a freezing winter day can taste SO GOOD!~ ^.^
So today (Sunday) marks the end of the Beijing leg, but definitely not the end of strong friendships, wonderful memories and the appetite for adventure. =D
Hello, SHANGHAI! :))
