Enroute China and making it to Beijing

Dongcheng District

It took a lot of convincing on my part that I had to go through to China despite the possibilities of cancelling my Tibet trip. I told myself earlier on that if I have to cancel my Tibet, there was no point for me to visit China anymore. That was me and my stubborn head. 

Well, the next idea was, if I was canning the China trip, Vietnam was the other option or Turkey. But, money wise, it wasn't practical for me to ditch my booked Beijing flight and purchase another one. 

And so, on the 23rd of September 9:30 am, I arrived at Beijing, China.

To be honest, I didn't have any expectations. I was warned by various people about the huge language difference. For sure I would have a bit of challenge there. So yes, that was a given. At the time I was enroute China, I wasn't happy about what was going on between them and the Philippines. They've been trying to own one of our islands and because of that I wasn't really keen to explore the country. My parents, most especially my Dad wasn't at all impressed that I supported their tourism by being there.

I arrived and got into a bad bargaining situation with the taxi I hired from the airport. Wrong move. But it was raining, and I wasnt in a good mood already, so I gave in. 

Now another thing to remember if you get to China.. and mind you, this is one of the best tips ever. Print out the address to make sure people would understand you if you're lost. 

The taxi driver wasn't familiar so he had to call the backpackers to make sure he was heading the right direction. After a few phone calls, he stopped along what seemed to be a major highway and advised me to walk down the alleyway where there were chinese lanterns hanging. In his crooked 1% English, I understood him for some reason. After that, I so felt like having a beer.

I asked a few people and eventually found the backpackers. It was Beijing downtown backpackers along No.85, Nan Luo Gu Alley,Dongcheng District, one of the alleys where there was abundance of street foods, restos and assorted options. I was actually surprised when people were smiling and friendly when I asked for help. Ive been told about the rudeness of some locals. But I assumed because it was a touristy street that they would be more patient with strangers. 

I got to my room, a 6-bed dorm, put on the sheets, had a hot shower (apparently it was cold in Beijing), and went for a quick snooze.