TRANSFER

I arrive at Beijing West Station having had a reasonable night's sleep and board the bullet train: amazing machine right out of something like Logan's Run! (reminder to get a photo as soon as I can!) Enormous place but easy to find your way around as it's well signposted in Chinese and English!

I do sit in the wrong seat though, Australian lady asks me to move, didn't read the ticket properly. Glad I did, first class seat! Met at the station, accommodation not quite ready yet though. Staying in a hotel near the centre of the city. The first excursion I have is all street eats and markets, very exotic seeming after London! The bullet train is amazing, it goes at something like 290 kph, or about 200 mph, and is silent! There are stewardesses on board like those you would find on a plane, immaculately dressed and with signs in Chinese and English.

One thing I do find out quickly is that moving LED signing is everywhere in China, on taxis, shops, hotels, even small ones in the hutong.

Having some time to myself I go online as there is free WIFI in my room and everywhere, although I do have to navigate very slowly in China. I have a bad night though as I guess the time lag is catching up on me. Waking around 10 I decide to explore the area. Street after street of little cafes and shops. Not a bar to be found anywhere! Desperate to call home, but cannot find a phone box anywhere, just like the UK I guess. Many little alleyways (hutong) nearby, forming a labyrinth in which I quickly get lost, and people who don't drive a car (the roads are extremely busy) get around on cycles or electric scooters. There a re also little red 3-wheeled carts which turn out to be local taxis, but as they are electric I imagine they do not go very far.

In the evening, the lights and street food combine to produce the atmosphere of “Blade Runner”. Many stalls have lights with spinning gadgets attached to them to keep insects away. They look like small rotor blades. Oddly enough I do not feel too out of place, as the lifestyle here is not too dissimilar from that in the UK.

I spend most of my time at night asleep or restless as I try to adjust to the time lag. Exploring the area I find row on row of shops and cafes, one has spits on the street roasting some kind of animal over charcoals. Crossing the road in China is a real challenge and the most dangerous activity I've undertaken since landing. The roads are immense and you have to watch the lights very carefully as the green “walk” man only applies to one side of the road, so you can cross but traffic can still turn left (right in the UK) into the lane you are walking across! Still if I keep my wits about me I am OK. I walk into a small restaurant and some Chinese graduates from university are there, and help me read the menu. We get talking and this makes a memorable evening and we exchange contact details. The Chinese I meet are incredibly welcoming and hospitable. They teach me a little Chinese and I teach hem a little English. The hutong are fascinating, and I must take my camera out with me to record them. China is just so VISUAL!