Part VIII - Bustling Beijing

Well, it goes without saying that we are now home. However, the trip is really not complete without one last post about our final destination on this trip: Beijing.

But first a bit about the train ride from Mongolia to China, which had to be the best train-riding experience of our whole trip....why? Because of Brent and Renee. You see, we had this notion, that we were kinda world travellers...we were adventurous, savy, wild..yes, all of the above. We rocked..right? WRONG...Renee and Brent rock, they truly do...and so much harder than we do.

You see Renee and Brent were normal on the outside (I might even say average) but on the inside, they were true adventurers...none of this wimpy one month trip stuff. In the previous year, they'd fought cancer, sold their house in London, travelled throughout Europe and Africa, accross Russia and planned to be on the road for another six months or so before settling in Australia. We inadvertantly found kindred souls. All four of us had a blast talking about everything from politics, to religion, to books, to tv and finally to sex. Through a bizarre set of circumstances we didn't get their number, which makes us really sad, but we know that they're out there living it...this adventure... and this somehow makes it a bit better to have missed out on their contact info.

Beijing is a curious city in so many ways. History, landmarks, religious sites, beautiful monuments and people. People everywhere. Beijing is one of the world's largest cities and you can almost feel it as soon as you step off the train. Bicycles, vendors, taxis, students all moving....in every direction. Everyone has something to do. Everyone has a place that they need to be. Everyone but us. And don't even start us on the students...who all wanted to sell us something...after they told us their very "unique" story.

Despite our trip taking place in mid-September, we found all of the tourist spots to still be incredibly busy and everyone in a bit of a hurry. In some ways, it was a difficult last stop to make. Beijing has an intensity to it that is palpable. It's not a city for the faint of heart or for the "out of shape"...unless taxis are considered...which is actually a good idea, because they are dirt cheap. And for the record, everything in Beijing is really farther than you plan on it being...all the time. It's just the way it is.

On our very brief stop in this massive city, I think we might have tried to pack in a bit too much excitment. We visited Tianamen Square, Chairman's Maos' Mosoleum, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall of China, the Ming Tombs and a Jade Factory. And we were on foot through all of it, except for the last three. There was one day we figure we walked almost 10 kms. Yea, we felt real fresh at the end of that one!

One the best parts of our stay in Beijing was the evenings. We didn't do much....but wander, snack and drink it all in. Our hotel was not far from a pedestrian street called Wangfujing that literally had everything from pearl markets to a Rolex store. Off Wangfujing, we snacked nightly at the Dong Hua Men Night Market where you could buy almost anything that wiggled on a stick. It wasn't fine dining, but it was a notable experience, to say the least.

One would literally have to stay a month in Beijing to do it justice. There is so much to see, so much history to absorb and so many streets to walk. We know that 3 days only scratched the surface of all that is Beijing. Our one solace? The fact that we will hopefully be returning within the next 18-months to pick up a daugther. That's more than enough to keep us going.