I made my first visit to Beijing 2 weeks ago, and it was amazing.
Beijing is a place that i need to go once, and never go back for a very long time. I went with my girlfriend for a week. We did all the main sight-seeing and that was truly amazing. We packed for w inter as we heard that autumn can be very cold, so it was better to be safe than sorry. We had planned this trip for quite a while, as I had one last trip on my visa, the choice was easy. Beijing and The Great Wall.As the time came closer, I had began to get excited as not only would I actually get to take lots of photos to keep and cherish, but more importantly to touch and feel one of the great wonders of the world.
The plane journey from Hong Kong to Beijing took 3 to 3 and a half hours, which was very quick, which made it even better as it gave us more time to explore. As soon as we arrived, the first thing you usually notice off the plane is the weather. the weather in Beijing at this time was very dry, it reminds me of the uk. Dry and fresh, which is perfect compared to the humidity of Hong Kong.
We were lucky to book a hotel near the the centre of Beijing and also right next to one of the MTR stations. Since the Olympics, Beijing's MTR system is cleverly planned out for the tourist, it would be very hard to imagine how it was before when there was no underground stop to the tourist attractions. This I am very relieved for, as my mandarin is pretty much non-existant (!)
Even though there are stops for pretty much the main attractions, Beijing is still very big, and walking across the road can take a bit of time.
I have to say, looking back at the whole trip, out of all places we visited, The Great Wall is by far the best the most memorable and exciting. Even now, Can't really believe that I still walked some of it. I slowly learnt through this trip that its better not to have any high expectations of Beijing, as Beijing is still the same large city but with a polished exterior. In good and bad ways.
Overall, like I mentioned before, if you have never been to Beijing, then you have to go to see the sights, its a must, but once you've been, staying longer than a week, getting used to the people, food and customs may take much longer, and even then it may be not to your taste.
We were lucky to book a hotel near the the centre of Beijing and also right next to one of the MTR stations. Since the Olympics, Beijing's MTR system is cleverly planned out for the tourist, it would be very hard to imagine how it was before when there was no underground stop to the tourist attractions. This I am very relieved for, as my mandarin is pretty much non-existant (!)
Even though there are stops for pretty much the main attractions, Beijing is still very big, and walking across the road can take a bit of time.
I have to say, looking back at the whole trip, out of all places we visited, The Great Wall is by far the best the most memorable and exciting. Even now, Can't really believe that I still walked some of it. I slowly learnt through this trip that its better not to have any high expectations of Beijing, as Beijing is still the same large city but with a polished exterior. In good and bad ways.
Overall, like I mentioned before, if you have never been to Beijing, then you have to go to see the sights, its a must, but once you've been, staying longer than a week, getting used to the people, food and customs may take much longer, and even then it may be not to your taste.
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