CHINA

I feel a sense of excitement and destiny as the plane slowly begins to taxi away from the terminal. My thoughts are abstract but mostly of my beloved Sarah.

I look at the landscape of the Gobi Desert as I wake from a troubled doze. It looks like the surface of Mars, and seems completely inimical to life. Imagine what would happen to someone who crash-landed here.

I arrive at Beijing Airport and the first thing I have to do is get through immigration. There are 6 gates which say “Chinese Nationals” and 6 gates which say “Foreigners”. But there are maybe a thousand people going through the Foreigners Gate! Took me 15 minutes to get through, not too bad, (worried for a moment they would not let me in!) To get my bags means catching a train! I begin to get a different sense of scale. 15 min train journey, just like the Tube really, then by the time I arrive my bags are on the conveyor belt. More huge queues to go through Customs, maybe 10 minutes then head for the exit.

Hundreds of people waiting at the exit with signs meeting people,, and a few taxi touts come up asking if I want a taxi. I shake my head and keep walking, having been forewarned. At the taxi rank outside there are marshals organising the taxis, nothing could be easier. I get in a cab and show the driver the address of the hotel I'm staying in, and at first he seems puzzled, but appears to understand. We set off and as I'm wearing a thick coat and its 77 degrees F I begin to get a bit warm. I also hope I'm not going to get lost! My spirits do dampen a bit as traffic jams and the sheer scale of Beijing conspire to make this a long trip! The architecture is gigantic and often monolithic, with huge megaliths appearing through the smog that renders the whole place slightly hazy. Occasionally I can see buildings which look quite futuristic looming in the distance. Again and again I get restless, hot and uncomfortable, worrying that I do not know where I am going. Finally my hotel appears and the taxi drops me off outside the foyer. When I pay the meter he queries the payment, I forget that he had to pay to go through a toll road, one more bill and he's quite happy. I unload, check in and liveried staff carry my bags to my room, which is quite luxurious looking, my train tickets for the next stop have already been delivered. I ring Mark, the friend I've arranged to meet and he's already on his way, (I'm late, after a one and a half hour taxi ride) so a quick freshen up, then rush to the bar to meet him.

We catch up on old times and I have my first hot-pot meal in China, a great evening! I also get to be introduced to the Beijing subway, which is easy once you know how, but Beijing is very easy to get lost in!

That night I don't sleep too well. Hot bath but still it is too warm outside. I get up to go to the bathroom to find myself locked out! And the lights have gone out! Down to the reception only to find they speak no English so have to make myself understood by using drawings and gestures. I get told someone is coming to fix it, the lady in Reception uses a phone app to translate into English. Thoroughly fed up I go back upstairs, eventually a little man comes along and by the time I get back up it has been fixed, and my lights are back on.