GUANGXI 2: BEIJING

Itinerary: 14th-16^th January, Beijing, 17th-19^th January Guilin, 20^th January-7^th February Xingping, 8^th-9^th February Guilin, 10th-13^th February Beijing.

 I sleep reasonably well and wake up to a pleasant morning, I have no ill effects remaining from the previous nights so feel pleased about this, however I don't feel hungry so I just walk to the bar for a coffee, being unable to eat breakfast. Following this I spend most of the morning writing and updating my blog. Today is a day to relax and unwind, so I've planned to have a walk and do a little photography around the hutong.

I ask the girl at reception to call a couple of the hotels I'm staying at later to check a couple of things and she is only too happy to oblige: remembering my experience in Mancheng when I had to ask Iris to help me out of a jam I make sure the booking for the next day is confirmed: also I ask about the transfer from Guilin to Xingping, possibly by boat. This is certainly possible but may be somewhat complex and require a Chinese guide. I resolve to look into this when I arrive in Guilin.

 I have a light lunch of spaghetti in the bar and walk out in the early afternoon. I need a couple of items, pens and razors so keep my eyes open for a convenience store. I walk out to Houhai through the hutong which is one of my favourite walks in the area, and fetch up in my favourite little bar there, before Great Leap at about 3pm, returning to the hostel at 5.

Some of the old houses in the hutong.

A gift shop window in Houhai

Some of the bottles in my favourite bar in Houhai.

"Ringo" at Great Leap.

 I spend some time on Skype to Sarah and my parents: the next time I can do this I will probably be in Guilin.

 That evening I walk out for a curry in my favourite Indian restaurant in Beijing, a small place in the hutong, and have planned to do some night photography with the Nikon. Sadly the battery is dead and needs charging so this turns out to be impossible. Dismayed, I go back to Great Leap before returning to the hostel to charge up my camera and have a couple of draught beers in the bar.

Walking through the hutong at night is rewarding as I find something hard to come by in China: peace and quiet! Also these narrow alleyways are mysteriously atmospheric with red lanterns glowing in the streets and the windows, and old-fashioned street-lights. Occasionally I pass little fruit shops where the Chinese are still out buying supplies. Steam rises from stalls selling dumplings and baozi, steamed buns. The air is filled with the aroma of spices and other things which combine to create a foreign miasma: a part of being in another land is of course, that everything smells differently. I notice a photographic shop nearby so resolve to try and get a spare battery for my camera.

 The next morning I get up later than I had intended, about 9am, and do a little writing. I'm not hungry but force some toast and coffee in the bar. Today, owing to the early train to Guilin I'm transferring to a hotel next to Beijing West railway station: it's a Chinese hotel that looks quite good except all the reviews say they only accept Chinese debit cards and don't speak English, so I make sure I have plenty of cash and have asked the reception girls at the hostel to check the reservation for me. Owing to last night's disappointment with my camera I've charged up the battery but I notice there is a photographic shop near the hostel so I try and obtain a spare, but this proves to be impossible as they don't have this type of battery: probably because the camera is an older model, so I suppose I can try and get one from Taobao (Chinese online market) or through Sarah: she may be able to send one from England. Following this I return to the hostel and re-pack my bags very carefully.

 Check—out is at 12 noon however I can't check in at my new hotel until after 2pm so I arrnage to have my cases in safe storage while I have lunch in the bar: a very good double burger with a couple of draught beers! I try not to think of the immense train ride to Guilin the next day: and I tend to dread the subway ride to Beijing West from where I'm staying as it's long, (about an hour) crowded and tiring: it's virtually impossible to get a seat. At any rate by 1.30 pm I'm ready to go so I say goodbye to the reception girls, (called Sarah and Cherry) and set off for Beijing West. As always, the stations are crowded and frantic with hurrying hordes of travellers: it's a literal rat-run,, although this time I actually strike it lucky and manage to get a seat for part of the journey, so arrive at the hotel around 2.30. Beijing West is the busiest I have ever seen it: much worse than last year. It can be confusing to the new traveller, as it's difficult to describe navigating this enormous and utterly chaotic travel exchange. It's worth remembering that this is possibly the world's busiest railway station, with most journeys across China during Chinese New Year passing though here. On the subway trains there are large numbers of what I assume to be Chinese migrant workers. They don't tend to have suitcases: instead they carry all their worldly goods in huge canvas sacks or in some cases, sealed paint buckets. There is something fascinating but rather sad about this.

 On arrival at the hotel, which is about 5 minutes walk from the station, I'm pleasantly surprised to find that the staff speak English: (all the reviews said they didn't) and they take VISA which is most convenient. However the room isn't ready yet. I've come across this before in China and have learned not to bother remonstrating about it: so I find a bar off the foyer and have a relaxing (if rather expensive at RMB 38) beer. The hotel foyer is pleasantly spacious and modern. After about three-quarters of an hour I go up to the room and something odd happens: my room is on the 18^th floor, the top floor of the hotel. When I enter the lift and press the button the lift only reaches the 12^th floor then goes back down to the ground floor! (In China this is referred to as the 1^st floor, as in America: the Chinese tend to copy America quite a lot.) In frustration I ask a Chinese guy why I can't get to the 18^th floor and he explains that I have to touch my key card onto a pad in the lift. Wondering whether I've got some privileged penthouse area I try this and it works.

The room itself is delightful: very spacious, Japanese style with a futon bed, very modern and tastefully furnished. It's one of the most attractive rooms I've stayed in during my time in China, spotlessly clean and I'm so pleased with it I wish I were staying longer. I'd like to Skype my family from here but I won't have time as I need an early night. The shaower is also excellent with the drain around a central slab that you stand on and very hot.  

  

I change and walk out having decided to visit Houhai: the subway ride isn't as long but it does have 2 changes. Houhai is the area I first stayed in when I visited Beijing last year. Once out however, I begin to worry that I might need my passport to to enter the subway station as it's inside the railway station which you need your passport to enter. However this turns out to be unjustified as there is a separate entrance.

On arrival in Houhai I'm dismayed to find that many of the restaurants I visited last year have disappeared, and the buildings are deserted with hoardings in front of them,. I walk into the hutong nearby where there is another bar like Great Leap that does good burgers and wings, but this is closed too! I'm bemused as all of these places were very successful and I wonder whether this one has just closed for the holiday. At any rate for the second time my dinner plans are frustrated so I look around a few other restaurants. 

Some of the bright lights in Houhai: the area can have an electrifying atmosphere at times.

 One looks very good and is open but is clearly in process of refurbishment and has no customers, which is always a bad sign. So I finally fetch up in the little Indian restaurant I went to when I first came to Houhai, although I have a much plainer dish than the previous night. I've been before so I know the food is good and reliable if rather expensive, then again Houhai is a busy tourist spot. I suspect it is being gentrified like NanlogouXiang nearby.

Tonight I can record some of the atmosphere of the hutong at night. They are quiet outside Houhai, so I walk to Great Leap through them, stopping at a small shop to buy some food for tomorrow's train journey to Guilin. There is an air of mystery about the hutong: I imagine they would make the perfect setting for a thriller, romance or horror story, and I experience a sense of wonder, of entering a different realm.

I return to my room before 10pm and fall asleep to the sound of a waterfall playing on my PC which feels appropriate here. Tomorrow I'm undertaking the longest stage of this project: the ride to Guilin in Guangxi, South China.