Alpha's Summer Adventure
-
Alpha eX
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- Location: London
- Contact:
MCN wrote:Exxy wrote:MCN wrote:Dangerblade wrote:strawberry floating epic. This thread could easily wow the Diggit crowd like BLH's did. How can we publicise it?
I've just submitted it.
http://digg.com/travel_places/GRcade_co ... nd_Beijing
Shouldn't you ask Alpha first?
As far as I'm aware, there are thousands of websites dugg without prior permission. Given that he's posting this stuff on a public forum, I don't think he's overly worried about people seeing it.
As long as the dad doesn't see it i'm fine with it.
Saying that, this is almost exactly what happened to poor Densha Otoko! Going to finish off the rest of the Beijing updates tonight (3 of them) and then catch up. Went to a really posh hotel for dinner this evening and saw the Mongolian Circus which was jaw dropping!
Oh and when did the avatars change size? I hate it
-
bigcheez2k3
- Member
- Joined in 2008
Preezy wrote:She's the hottest thing to come out of the Ukraine since the Chernobyl fallout cloud
I didded a youtube thing Clicky!
-
shas'la
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- Contact:
-
Alpha eX
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- Location: London
- Contact:
Beijing – The Temple of Heaven
30-06-09
We were very late to breakfast today after another late night. We finally dragged ourselves down to the breakfast hall, had a 15 minute breakfast and stumbled onto the bus, we were very tired and today we were off to the Temple of Heaven.
I don’t know how long the bus ride was because I fell asleep, I was that tired. We had arrived on side road, leading onto a main road with a few shops, this wasn’t the Temple of Heaven, that was for sure. We got off the bus and headed into a large building.
Instantly, I had suspicions to what would happen in this building as I noticed the shop in front as we were lead past the stalls and towards the back of the building. It was going to be another factory tour, we woke up early and rushed for a factory tour. I would have sooner had the extra hour in bed and caught up with the tour via cab.
We were lead upstairs by a worker in medial clothing, the shop was selling medial herbal stuff, I assumed another Chinese medicine tour. We were pointed into a room what looked almost exactly like a school classroom, i’m not joking, just take a look. I was not happy.
Someone came in and started talking, I wasn’t paying attention and fell into a deep sleep. I was woken up half an hour later by Antonia who was just as bored as me. We had cleverly seated ourselves at the back of the classroom and managed to sneak out during the lecture, brilliant. We took the extra time to explore the area, not much was here, just some random shops across the road. We had a look around and I came out with a Joby Gorrila Pod, it was obvious fake, priced at £3 but had excellent build quality, I was more than happy. We made our way back to the factory and waited in the shade for the rest of the tour, they took ages and came out with bags of Chinese medicine. Back on the bus to the next location, I was hoping it wasn’t another factory tour.
As we seated ourselves on the bus, one of the kids of the tour ran up to us in our seats and introduced himself as Gordon, I noticed he was clutching a DS and excitedly asked if I wanted to play a game with him, I agreed and we all took our seats as the bus set off. The bus ride was spent playing 2 Player VS mode on New Super Mario Bros which was good fun, for his age (I assume 8) he was really good at the game. We pulled up along side a long line of Rickshaws.
What followed more than made up for the factory tour this morning, a Rickshaw ride through a small old fashion village with traditional style Chinese housing. It was great, much better than my last drunken Rickshaw ride. The long line of Rickshaws were slow but it was a nice experience, I took a few videos to share the experience.
More Videos of the Rickshaw Ride
Photos of the Rickshaw Ride
The Rickshaw ride took a good 15 minutes, because of the long line going through the streets we went at a snail’s pace, we pulled up and I tipped our driver a nice amount for the ride. We were greeted by our tour guide and led back to the bus just around the corner. As I was getting on the bus Gordon, the DS kid, appeared out of nowhere with his DS and a huge grin on his face. It was a few rounds of Bomberman this time until we reached our next destination.
We arrived at what I think was the City Wall and Gate. This building overlooks Beijing and was used as a defence tower. We climbed up below the building and got a good look out over the city before going inside.
We climbed up to it and was given a long talk about it’s history, in Cantonese. I was bored so like a true tourist, climbed out the tower window to take some pictures to the horror of Antonia. I had to quickly climb back in because people started to notice the white guy had disappeared out the window.
After the long talk we were lead into another room to be told all about Jade. I couldn’t doze off in here so just sat and looked around the room for what seemed like forever. We got out and looked at the defence museum downstairs which was quite cool but no photos allowed, after that we got out and the sun was on high. The rest of the tour were heading back to the bus but I ran across the main road to get some ice poles. The tour guide laughed as he saw me running back trying to be discreet with the two ice poles in hand.
Photos of the City Wall and Gate
We drove through the city until we reached our next destination. I had no idea where we were going but were lead around to a large hotel, the Beijing International Hotel. This building looked like and I think was, the tallest building in the city area. We got inside and I heard we was going here for lunch, looking around at the quality of the place, I felt underdressed in my shorts and t-shirt. We took a lift up to the restaurant on the top floor. On the way up the tour guide told me that it was a revolving restaurant, brilliant!
The restaurant was serving a buffet, there was so much food and it all looked so good, especially the desert. We got a table and left our stuff before running off with our plates to get some food.
There was a large variety of Chinese food here and a large desert section. There was so much food I stopped taking pictures and just made a video walkthrough of the place. After I had got my food, I tried to find my table but it was gone, forgetting it was a revolving restaurant, I was completely baffled when my table was much further from where I left.
I didn’t eat too much food as I wanted to save room for desert, I mostly ate the meat before I ran off to grab some desert. The deserts were small, slices of cake, so I had a few.
Photos of Lunch
After lunch I decided to look around the restaurant, enjoying the view I took a lot of photos and took a peek out of the telescope which was a huge attraction for the kids. Using the telescope, I could see the hotel, The Marriot, not too far in the distance.
Photos of The Restaurant
During our lunch, Victor the tour guide made his way around the tables asking everyone if they would be interested in seeing a Kung Fu show. This wasn’t part of the tour and it was optional and cost £15 a ticket. I bought two tickets and for the rest of the day wondered what the show would be like having never seen one. After a great lunch it was back onto the bus. I really enjoyed the revolving restaurant, I had never been in one before so it was a great experience, especially to see over Beijing on such a clear day.
Our next stop was the Temple of Heaven is a complex of buildings in urban Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest in the past, now it is one of the main tourist attractions in Beijing. We got off the bus and made a short walk to the entrance where I took the opportunity to run off and get some ice lollies before catching back up with the group.
It was quite a walk to the Temple of Heaven after the entrance to the complex. There is a long road that you have to walk down which isn’t easy in scorching heat. Took ages to get the photo with a clear path ahead.
Photos of the Enterance
The Temple of Heaven wasn’t that impressive, nice building but it doesn’t really stand out. The area was busy and the heat made me just want to stay in the shade. We was here for quite a while so decided to rest a bit during the free time and got a slush ice drink. It looked great on the poster and grape flavour too. Took ages to make but when I was finally handed the drink I took a huge sip and nearly spat it back out, awful. It tasted like blended dirt, it went straight in the bin, what a waste.
More Pictures
It was a short walk back through the park to the bus. I made sure to stop for more ice cream on the way back, the rest of the tour seemed to copy and got one too. They all were asking for my recommendations and reviews of each ice cream as by this point, I had tried nearly every variety in Beijing. Back on the bus and Gordon wanted to play some more Mario Party, I was tired so let Antonia play, at least Gordon got to win a few games... The next stop was Tiananmen Square, we pulled up just around the corner and had a short walk to the square.
We were rounded up by Victor and told we were going to get a group photo together. The sun was in my eyes so I was afraid I would blink as the photo was taken. As we were done I expected to be shown or receive the photo but no, I would have to wait.
More Pictures
We were asked if we wanted another photo in a souvenir album, this would come at a price but I was happy to pay. We were asked to take another picture, just me and Antonia this time, in front of the gate. Again, I was worried i’d ruined the photo but didn’t get to see as the photographer hurried the next couple in for their picture. We were given free time but it was far too hot, we went to the nearest cold drinks stand and walked around for a bit.
More Pictures
Back on the bus and it was off to dinner. I decided to take a nap before as the sun had killed my energy and I needed to rest. It was so damn hot today I just wanted to stay in shade or a have someone follow me with a hose. We arrived at a fairly average looking place for dinner, this time the groups were different, we was sat with Gordon (DS kid) and his family. There was quite a lot of food and a large, odd looking fish.
Pictures of Dinner
Dinner wasn’t too bad today, I enjoyed it and ate quite a lot. We spoke with Gordon’s family for most of the meal, nice family. They seemed really happy Gordon had found someone to play with, Gordon did seem really happy, cheering when I agreed to play DS with him each time on the bus.
Back on the bus and we stopped near the hotel where most of the passengers got off as they wasn’t going to the Kung Fu show this evening which is a shame, because they had to spend the rest of the time in their hotel rooms while we got to see a show. The theatre wasn’t too far, as we pulled up there were many busses in the parking lot and a huge crowd slowly making it’s way into the building.
More Pictures
Sadly, there was no photography/video allowed during the show. Not wanting to cause a huge disaster with a distracting light, I followed this rule. We was sat right at the edge of the row, so had a lane going past us where people walked past. As the lights dimmed everyone was hurried to their seats. The show started with loud fierce music and lots of action on stage, all of a sudden ninjas appeared in the lane! I jumped, they came out of nowhere, they were playing some instrument in time to the music, it was amazing how I didn’t notice them appear. The rest of the show was a mix of narrative storytelling and athletics, strength and kung fu. It was an enjoyable show but the narrative seemed a little pointless.
Despite a disappointing and sleepy start to the day, I had a lot of fun. I think the kung fu show at the end of the day really ended it on a high. The Temple of Heaven was a little boring, didn’t seem like anything special. Tiananmen Square was good but far too hot, i’m still worried about those pictures, I just know i’m going to be making a funny face or have my eyes closed. Tomorrow is the last day, we have to wake up early to pack the bags, leave them out the room, go have breakfast and get on the bus by 9am. Tomorrow I have to get some pictures of the breakfast hall. Going to try sleep early tonight...
30-06-09
We were very late to breakfast today after another late night. We finally dragged ourselves down to the breakfast hall, had a 15 minute breakfast and stumbled onto the bus, we were very tired and today we were off to the Temple of Heaven.
I don’t know how long the bus ride was because I fell asleep, I was that tired. We had arrived on side road, leading onto a main road with a few shops, this wasn’t the Temple of Heaven, that was for sure. We got off the bus and headed into a large building.
Instantly, I had suspicions to what would happen in this building as I noticed the shop in front as we were lead past the stalls and towards the back of the building. It was going to be another factory tour, we woke up early and rushed for a factory tour. I would have sooner had the extra hour in bed and caught up with the tour via cab.
We were lead upstairs by a worker in medial clothing, the shop was selling medial herbal stuff, I assumed another Chinese medicine tour. We were pointed into a room what looked almost exactly like a school classroom, i’m not joking, just take a look. I was not happy.
Someone came in and started talking, I wasn’t paying attention and fell into a deep sleep. I was woken up half an hour later by Antonia who was just as bored as me. We had cleverly seated ourselves at the back of the classroom and managed to sneak out during the lecture, brilliant. We took the extra time to explore the area, not much was here, just some random shops across the road. We had a look around and I came out with a Joby Gorrila Pod, it was obvious fake, priced at £3 but had excellent build quality, I was more than happy. We made our way back to the factory and waited in the shade for the rest of the tour, they took ages and came out with bags of Chinese medicine. Back on the bus to the next location, I was hoping it wasn’t another factory tour.
As we seated ourselves on the bus, one of the kids of the tour ran up to us in our seats and introduced himself as Gordon, I noticed he was clutching a DS and excitedly asked if I wanted to play a game with him, I agreed and we all took our seats as the bus set off. The bus ride was spent playing 2 Player VS mode on New Super Mario Bros which was good fun, for his age (I assume 8) he was really good at the game. We pulled up along side a long line of Rickshaws.
What followed more than made up for the factory tour this morning, a Rickshaw ride through a small old fashion village with traditional style Chinese housing. It was great, much better than my last drunken Rickshaw ride. The long line of Rickshaws were slow but it was a nice experience, I took a few videos to share the experience.
More Videos of the Rickshaw Ride
Photos of the Rickshaw Ride
The Rickshaw ride took a good 15 minutes, because of the long line going through the streets we went at a snail’s pace, we pulled up and I tipped our driver a nice amount for the ride. We were greeted by our tour guide and led back to the bus just around the corner. As I was getting on the bus Gordon, the DS kid, appeared out of nowhere with his DS and a huge grin on his face. It was a few rounds of Bomberman this time until we reached our next destination.
We arrived at what I think was the City Wall and Gate. This building overlooks Beijing and was used as a defence tower. We climbed up below the building and got a good look out over the city before going inside.
We climbed up to it and was given a long talk about it’s history, in Cantonese. I was bored so like a true tourist, climbed out the tower window to take some pictures to the horror of Antonia. I had to quickly climb back in because people started to notice the white guy had disappeared out the window.
After the long talk we were lead into another room to be told all about Jade. I couldn’t doze off in here so just sat and looked around the room for what seemed like forever. We got out and looked at the defence museum downstairs which was quite cool but no photos allowed, after that we got out and the sun was on high. The rest of the tour were heading back to the bus but I ran across the main road to get some ice poles. The tour guide laughed as he saw me running back trying to be discreet with the two ice poles in hand.
Photos of the City Wall and Gate
We drove through the city until we reached our next destination. I had no idea where we were going but were lead around to a large hotel, the Beijing International Hotel. This building looked like and I think was, the tallest building in the city area. We got inside and I heard we was going here for lunch, looking around at the quality of the place, I felt underdressed in my shorts and t-shirt. We took a lift up to the restaurant on the top floor. On the way up the tour guide told me that it was a revolving restaurant, brilliant!
The restaurant was serving a buffet, there was so much food and it all looked so good, especially the desert. We got a table and left our stuff before running off with our plates to get some food.
There was a large variety of Chinese food here and a large desert section. There was so much food I stopped taking pictures and just made a video walkthrough of the place. After I had got my food, I tried to find my table but it was gone, forgetting it was a revolving restaurant, I was completely baffled when my table was much further from where I left.
I didn’t eat too much food as I wanted to save room for desert, I mostly ate the meat before I ran off to grab some desert. The deserts were small, slices of cake, so I had a few.
Photos of Lunch
After lunch I decided to look around the restaurant, enjoying the view I took a lot of photos and took a peek out of the telescope which was a huge attraction for the kids. Using the telescope, I could see the hotel, The Marriot, not too far in the distance.
Photos of The Restaurant
During our lunch, Victor the tour guide made his way around the tables asking everyone if they would be interested in seeing a Kung Fu show. This wasn’t part of the tour and it was optional and cost £15 a ticket. I bought two tickets and for the rest of the day wondered what the show would be like having never seen one. After a great lunch it was back onto the bus. I really enjoyed the revolving restaurant, I had never been in one before so it was a great experience, especially to see over Beijing on such a clear day.
Our next stop was the Temple of Heaven is a complex of buildings in urban Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest in the past, now it is one of the main tourist attractions in Beijing. We got off the bus and made a short walk to the entrance where I took the opportunity to run off and get some ice lollies before catching back up with the group.
It was quite a walk to the Temple of Heaven after the entrance to the complex. There is a long road that you have to walk down which isn’t easy in scorching heat. Took ages to get the photo with a clear path ahead.
Photos of the Enterance
The Temple of Heaven wasn’t that impressive, nice building but it doesn’t really stand out. The area was busy and the heat made me just want to stay in the shade. We was here for quite a while so decided to rest a bit during the free time and got a slush ice drink. It looked great on the poster and grape flavour too. Took ages to make but when I was finally handed the drink I took a huge sip and nearly spat it back out, awful. It tasted like blended dirt, it went straight in the bin, what a waste.
More Pictures
It was a short walk back through the park to the bus. I made sure to stop for more ice cream on the way back, the rest of the tour seemed to copy and got one too. They all were asking for my recommendations and reviews of each ice cream as by this point, I had tried nearly every variety in Beijing. Back on the bus and Gordon wanted to play some more Mario Party, I was tired so let Antonia play, at least Gordon got to win a few games... The next stop was Tiananmen Square, we pulled up just around the corner and had a short walk to the square.
We were rounded up by Victor and told we were going to get a group photo together. The sun was in my eyes so I was afraid I would blink as the photo was taken. As we were done I expected to be shown or receive the photo but no, I would have to wait.
More Pictures
We were asked if we wanted another photo in a souvenir album, this would come at a price but I was happy to pay. We were asked to take another picture, just me and Antonia this time, in front of the gate. Again, I was worried i’d ruined the photo but didn’t get to see as the photographer hurried the next couple in for their picture. We were given free time but it was far too hot, we went to the nearest cold drinks stand and walked around for a bit.
More Pictures
Back on the bus and it was off to dinner. I decided to take a nap before as the sun had killed my energy and I needed to rest. It was so damn hot today I just wanted to stay in shade or a have someone follow me with a hose. We arrived at a fairly average looking place for dinner, this time the groups were different, we was sat with Gordon (DS kid) and his family. There was quite a lot of food and a large, odd looking fish.
Pictures of Dinner
Dinner wasn’t too bad today, I enjoyed it and ate quite a lot. We spoke with Gordon’s family for most of the meal, nice family. They seemed really happy Gordon had found someone to play with, Gordon did seem really happy, cheering when I agreed to play DS with him each time on the bus.
Back on the bus and we stopped near the hotel where most of the passengers got off as they wasn’t going to the Kung Fu show this evening which is a shame, because they had to spend the rest of the time in their hotel rooms while we got to see a show. The theatre wasn’t too far, as we pulled up there were many busses in the parking lot and a huge crowd slowly making it’s way into the building.
More Pictures
Sadly, there was no photography/video allowed during the show. Not wanting to cause a huge disaster with a distracting light, I followed this rule. We was sat right at the edge of the row, so had a lane going past us where people walked past. As the lights dimmed everyone was hurried to their seats. The show started with loud fierce music and lots of action on stage, all of a sudden ninjas appeared in the lane! I jumped, they came out of nowhere, they were playing some instrument in time to the music, it was amazing how I didn’t notice them appear. The rest of the show was a mix of narrative storytelling and athletics, strength and kung fu. It was an enjoyable show but the narrative seemed a little pointless.
Despite a disappointing and sleepy start to the day, I had a lot of fun. I think the kung fu show at the end of the day really ended it on a high. The Temple of Heaven was a little boring, didn’t seem like anything special. Tiananmen Square was good but far too hot, i’m still worried about those pictures, I just know i’m going to be making a funny face or have my eyes closed. Tomorrow is the last day, we have to wake up early to pack the bags, leave them out the room, go have breakfast and get on the bus by 9am. Tomorrow I have to get some pictures of the breakfast hall. Going to try sleep early tonight...
-
The People's ElboReformat
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- AKA: Goat, Zenigame
- Location: El Boat of Goat
- Contact:
Another great update Alpha. Lots of very nice looking food as usual, and it sounds like you're in there with Gordon. 
I love how you continue to climb on everything.
Hello!
I love how you continue to climb on everything. Hello!
The Eeveelution club! \o/
-
Fatal Exception
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- AKA: Racist chinese lover
- Location: ಠ_ಠ
Zenigame wrote:
Hello!
Requesting a higher res image so we can zoom in on that fine piece of ass.
*edit*
It's gong to be Antonia isn't it?
Why else would an unescorted lady be stood there looking like that at the guy taking pictures. Bravo Alpha.
The above post, unless specifically stated to the contrary, should not be taken seriously. If the above post has offended you in any way, please fill in this form and return it to your nearest moderator.
-
Alpha eX
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- Location: London
- Contact:
-
Qikz
- #420BlazeIt ♥
- Joined in 2011
Fatal Exception wrote:Zenigame wrote:
Hello!
Requesting a higher res image so we can zoom in on that fine piece of ass.
*edit*
It's gong to be Antonia isn't it?
Bravo Alpha.
Would.
The Watching Artist wrote:I feel so inept next to Qikz...
-
The People's ElboReformat
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- AKA: Goat, Zenigame
- Location: El Boat of Goat
- Contact:
Can't be Antonia. Alpha wouldn't post a picture of her here incase we act... well, like this.
The Eeveelution club! \o/
-
Qikz
- #420BlazeIt ♥
- Joined in 2011
Zenigame wrote:Can't be Antonia. Alpha wouldn't post a picture of her here incase we act... well, like this.
Antonia or not.
DAT ASS.
The Watching Artist wrote:I feel so inept next to Qikz...
-
Fatal Exception
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- AKA: Racist chinese lover
- Location: ಠ_ಠ
Zenigame wrote:Can't be Antonia. Alpha wouldn't post a picture of her here incase we act... well, like this.
I only want to find pics of her because he wont post them
I even went so far as to check reflective surfaces for her, non of the ones with her in have been good enough to get a clear picture, or her head is cut off.
The above post, unless specifically stated to the contrary, should not be taken seriously. If the above post has offended you in any way, please fill in this form and return it to your nearest moderator.
-
tnman
- Member
- Joined in 2008
Not necessarily guys. Yellow Umbrella Lady is staring at Luke too.
Dr Kelso wrote:I only play Pac-Man and that car-jack game. There's nothing quite like scoring a caddy and mowing down street hos.
-
Fatal Exception
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- AKA: Racist chinese lover
- Location: ಠ_ಠ
tnman wrote:
Not necessarily guys. Yellow Umbrella Lady is staring at Luke too.
She looks too old. Although it's hard to tell in that pic.
The above post, unless specifically stated to the contrary, should not be taken seriously. If the above post has offended you in any way, please fill in this form and return it to your nearest moderator.
-
The People's ElboReformat
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- AKA: Goat, Zenigame
- Location: El Boat of Goat
- Contact:
Everyone stares at Luke because he's the only white guy there. And is usually climbing all over their sacred memorials and statues with a complete lack of respect.
The Eeveelution club! \o/
-
tnman
- Member
- Joined in 2008
Dr Kelso wrote:I only play Pac-Man and that car-jack game. There's nothing quite like scoring a caddy and mowing down street hos.
-
LewisD
- #grcadesangle
- Joined in 2008
- AKA: L3wisD
- Location: Reading, Berkshire
- Contact:
Zenigame wrote:Luke is usually climbing all over their sacred memorials and statues with a complete lack of respect.
I must admit I was quite shocked to see him climbing that door.You get killed fo' that gooseberry fool homie!
-
shas'la
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- Contact:
Zenigame wrote:Can't be Antonia. Alpha wouldn't post a picture of her here incase we act... well, like this.
Not antonia.
-
The People's ElboReformat
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- AKA: Goat, Zenigame
- Location: El Boat of Goat
- Contact:
shas'la wrote:Zenigame wrote:Can't be Antonia. Alpha wouldn't post a picture of her here incase we act... well, like this.
Not antonia.
You've seen the fabled Antonia?
Is she hot? Pics please.
The Eeveelution club! \o/
-
shas'la
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- Contact:
-
Alpha eX
- Member
- Joined in 2008
- Location: London
- Contact:
Bye Bye, Beijing
01-07-09
Despite our best efforts, we woke up late again today after only a few hours sleep. We hurried to get our suitcases packed and managed to get them outside the rooms for collection just on time. With an extra 15 minutes over the usual half an hour breakfast time, I managed to finally take some pictures of the breakfast hall as we had a nice lunch.
More Pictures
We left with time to spare and went to sit on the bus. On the way, I took a few photos of the hotel lobby as I hadn’t had the chance to take any yet. We passed all the suitcases, I checked to make sure ours was on there and then continued to the bus, satisfied our cases would come with us.
I assumed we was going straight to the airport but we was told that we wouldn’t be going there till around 3pm as our flight was at 6pm. We pulled in near what looked like an Olympic Stadium but passed that and pulled up outside a small building opposite. I was hoping I was wrong but it looked like another factory tour.
Photos of the Ride to the Factory
The first thing I noticed inside the building was a small yet empty cafe area at the back of the first room. We was lead into a room filled with comfortable looking chairs that sadly all faced a desk at the front, behind that, diagrams of the foot and it’s massage points. A lecture on feet, great.
We took our seats and as expected, the lecture began. Gordon caught my attention by waving his DS at me wanting to play more Mario Party, I regretted not bringing my DS. Thankfully, I could rest as the chairs were so comfortable and even had a foot rest. A few minutes into the lecture the room almost instantly filled with staff members all wearing an Olympic shirt, they each carried two large milk churns and eventually two staff came to us.
The staff pulled out a wooden bucket out from under our seats and filled it with the contents of the milk churn, hot water with a large tea bag placed inside. We were instructed to soak and rest out feet, nice. The woman at the front continued her lecture while I leaned back and almost feel asleep in comfort. After the lecture was done, the staff came back and gave us a shoulder, neck and foot massage. The masseuses are the ones who massage the Olympic athletes so we got a real good massage from them, it was very relaxing and just what was needed at the end of this trip, perfect.
Our massage lasted about an hour, after that I was feeling refreshed and awake. We got back on the bus and headed out for lunch. We pulled into a small shopping area which was built around one of the large bank buildings.
We went to the Yuxiang Kitchen, I only remember the name because I took a picture of it. The restaurant wasn’t too big and was quite empty despite being around midday. As we seated, Victor recommended some seats for us but didn’t say why, strange.
Before the food arrived, music started to play and a guy in costume ran out, I then realized why Victor suggested the seats, they was ideal to watch the performance that had just started. Luckily, I had my camera in hand to catch the whole thing. It was a great show and I won’t spoil it so just watch it and keep your eyes on the guy’s face.
The performance was great, as it finished the food started to arrive. There was a lot to eat, mostly the usual stuff but this restaurant serves a special type of noodle which we had to order on specifically if we wanted it as it came at an extra but minimal cost.
Pictures of Lunch
The food was great, I really enjoyed the noodles here. We finished before pretty much everyone else so snuck off to do a bit of exploring and shopping in the area. It was fun until I was attacked by a giant metal bug!
After a bit of shopping we caught up with the group again as they were leaving the restaurant, we got back on the bus and headed to another location. As we pulled up I instantly knew where we was going, another factory. This time it was a silk factory, no doubt there would be a large silk shop somewhere in the building.
We gathered at the front desk and was given a large red book, it was the photo album we ordered in Tiananmen Square. I slowly opened the front dreading what I assumed to be a terrible photo but it was thankfully a nice photo of me and Antonia . The rest of the book was just photos of Beijing and it’s main landmarks. The first page of the book was some sort of certificate, nothing official and it wasn’t signed. I decided to ask everyone on the tour to sign it and they thought it was a great idea.
The first part of the tour showed the stage of making silk, the highlight of this was when we was shown a bucket of silkworm eggs or something, a little girl picked one up, shook it and threw it back in the display, there was a silk worm inside that rattled and freaked her out. We continued through the mini museum and came to a large shop selling bed sheets and clothing.
The tour continued around the shop with on hand displays of silk and more talks about the silk was turned into the products on display. Not interested or wanting to buy, me and Antonia wandered off collecting more signatures and trying to find a place to sit and wait. While walking around, I found a giant fish tank which was more interesting than the tour that was going on. I really hate these factory tours but if it paid for the great meals, it's cool.
More Fish
Back on the bus again and this time Gordon asked to play DS. We played more Mario Party, one mini game 7 times in a row because I kept beating him at it. It was only a short trip to our next stop, not a building to go in, just one in the distance to look at. The building was a TV studio or something to do with TV, next to it was a burnt building which looked very out of place.
More Pictures
We got back on the bus and headed for the airport. It wasn’t a long journey but I still decided to take a quick nap as the rest of the bus listened to the local tour guide for his last talk. He seems to really enjoy his job and i’m told he’s very good at it, I wouldn’t know, I don’t understand Cantonese so missed out on what seemed to be an enjoyable and funny series of talks.
The airport was busy, crawling with people. Me and Antonia had no idea where we were supposed to go so just followed the rest of the tour who seemed to know exactly where they was supposed to go.
More Pictures
We made our way to the check in desk to meet Victor who was sorting the check in process for everyone. There was a long queue here as everyone on the tour needed to check in. As we waited, Gordon came running up with something behind his back, a gift.
It wasn’t much but it was a nice gesture. Gordon’s mother came to talk with us after and thanked us for being kind to her son on the trip. I felt a bit sorry for Gordon as he tried to make friends with Cyrus, who was currently whizzing about the airport on a trolley, but was shot down and somewhat ignored. We finally got to the front of the check in desk, I checked in fine, Antonia, problems. Her new passport/visa which was issued when we got into Beijing was causing problems, the check in staff didn’t know what it was as it was so new but Victor came to the rescue, 10 minutes later and we were off through security then on the train to the departures lounge.
We did a bit of shopping in the duty free, I bought Antonia’s parents some chocolates and then we went to wait by the departure gate. While waiting I managed to find a free WIFI connection which kept me entertained while Antonia and Gordon played DS. It got closer and closer to the flights departure time but the gate still wasn’t opened, finally, 10 minutes late, the gate opened instantly forming a huge queue.
The queue was taking a long time to go down, it wasn’t until 5 minutes of waiting I realised it wasn’t going down. 10 minutes later the queue broke apart, looked like the flight was cancelled! I went to the front, trying to find out what had gone wrong, technical difficulties on the plane, great. We had to wait now, either the plane was fixed or we stay in Beijing another day. Thankfully, 45 minutes later the plane was ok and we was on our way back to Hong Kong.
Beijing was a lot of fun ,we managed to get so much done in the 5 days since we booked a package which included the flight, hotels, food and tour. I strongly suggest trying to get yourself on a tour similar to ours, it really cuts the planning needed and gets you to all the places you will most likely go.
Highlights for me was the Great Wall and the food. I will go back to Beijing to finish climbing the Great all, we only climbed a small portion of it and also didn’t go on the hillside slide. If you’re going to the Great Wall, you MUST wear shorts in heat or comfortable non-tight trousers otherwise you will have a difficult time climbing. The food on the trip was amazing, especially for an all inclusive package deal. The variety of restaurants was great, my favourites being the revolving restaurant for the view and the hot pot for the quality of food, the last meal with the show running in third but the food wasn’t that great.
Another highlight was the people on the tour. Despite being the only foreigner on the tour, everyone made the effort to make me feel welcome and included in the group. The families were especially kind to us as we took the time to entertain their kids. Cyrus, the crazy kid was a bucket of laughs, full of energy and funny catchphrases and of course, Gordon, the DS kid. It was nice to see that kid so happy as before we started playing DS, he looked quite alone and bored on the group. The tour guides were very cool, the local guide didn't speak english but he tried and was very funny and liked playing pranks, especially in pretending to not understand. The tour guide from Hong Kong was brilliant, any problems he sorted them for us. He suggested the best viewing places, gave me a lot of information in English, took lots of photos for us and even gave us an extra laminated group photo when the other members got one.
So if you’re ever in Hong Kong or planning a trip to China, don’t skip out on a trip to Beijing, give yourself at least 3 days if you don’t want to see everything and try to get more than one big tourist attraction done in a day otherwise you’ll spend more time than needed in one place.
Bye Bye, Beijing.
01-07-09
Despite our best efforts, we woke up late again today after only a few hours sleep. We hurried to get our suitcases packed and managed to get them outside the rooms for collection just on time. With an extra 15 minutes over the usual half an hour breakfast time, I managed to finally take some pictures of the breakfast hall as we had a nice lunch.
More Pictures
We left with time to spare and went to sit on the bus. On the way, I took a few photos of the hotel lobby as I hadn’t had the chance to take any yet. We passed all the suitcases, I checked to make sure ours was on there and then continued to the bus, satisfied our cases would come with us.
I assumed we was going straight to the airport but we was told that we wouldn’t be going there till around 3pm as our flight was at 6pm. We pulled in near what looked like an Olympic Stadium but passed that and pulled up outside a small building opposite. I was hoping I was wrong but it looked like another factory tour.
Photos of the Ride to the Factory
The first thing I noticed inside the building was a small yet empty cafe area at the back of the first room. We was lead into a room filled with comfortable looking chairs that sadly all faced a desk at the front, behind that, diagrams of the foot and it’s massage points. A lecture on feet, great.
We took our seats and as expected, the lecture began. Gordon caught my attention by waving his DS at me wanting to play more Mario Party, I regretted not bringing my DS. Thankfully, I could rest as the chairs were so comfortable and even had a foot rest. A few minutes into the lecture the room almost instantly filled with staff members all wearing an Olympic shirt, they each carried two large milk churns and eventually two staff came to us.
The staff pulled out a wooden bucket out from under our seats and filled it with the contents of the milk churn, hot water with a large tea bag placed inside. We were instructed to soak and rest out feet, nice. The woman at the front continued her lecture while I leaned back and almost feel asleep in comfort. After the lecture was done, the staff came back and gave us a shoulder, neck and foot massage. The masseuses are the ones who massage the Olympic athletes so we got a real good massage from them, it was very relaxing and just what was needed at the end of this trip, perfect.
Our massage lasted about an hour, after that I was feeling refreshed and awake. We got back on the bus and headed out for lunch. We pulled into a small shopping area which was built around one of the large bank buildings.
We went to the Yuxiang Kitchen, I only remember the name because I took a picture of it. The restaurant wasn’t too big and was quite empty despite being around midday. As we seated, Victor recommended some seats for us but didn’t say why, strange.
Before the food arrived, music started to play and a guy in costume ran out, I then realized why Victor suggested the seats, they was ideal to watch the performance that had just started. Luckily, I had my camera in hand to catch the whole thing. It was a great show and I won’t spoil it so just watch it and keep your eyes on the guy’s face.
The performance was great, as it finished the food started to arrive. There was a lot to eat, mostly the usual stuff but this restaurant serves a special type of noodle which we had to order on specifically if we wanted it as it came at an extra but minimal cost.
Pictures of Lunch
The food was great, I really enjoyed the noodles here. We finished before pretty much everyone else so snuck off to do a bit of exploring and shopping in the area. It was fun until I was attacked by a giant metal bug!
After a bit of shopping we caught up with the group again as they were leaving the restaurant, we got back on the bus and headed to another location. As we pulled up I instantly knew where we was going, another factory. This time it was a silk factory, no doubt there would be a large silk shop somewhere in the building.
We gathered at the front desk and was given a large red book, it was the photo album we ordered in Tiananmen Square. I slowly opened the front dreading what I assumed to be a terrible photo but it was thankfully a nice photo of me and Antonia . The rest of the book was just photos of Beijing and it’s main landmarks. The first page of the book was some sort of certificate, nothing official and it wasn’t signed. I decided to ask everyone on the tour to sign it and they thought it was a great idea.
The first part of the tour showed the stage of making silk, the highlight of this was when we was shown a bucket of silkworm eggs or something, a little girl picked one up, shook it and threw it back in the display, there was a silk worm inside that rattled and freaked her out. We continued through the mini museum and came to a large shop selling bed sheets and clothing.
The tour continued around the shop with on hand displays of silk and more talks about the silk was turned into the products on display. Not interested or wanting to buy, me and Antonia wandered off collecting more signatures and trying to find a place to sit and wait. While walking around, I found a giant fish tank which was more interesting than the tour that was going on. I really hate these factory tours but if it paid for the great meals, it's cool.
More Fish
Back on the bus again and this time Gordon asked to play DS. We played more Mario Party, one mini game 7 times in a row because I kept beating him at it. It was only a short trip to our next stop, not a building to go in, just one in the distance to look at. The building was a TV studio or something to do with TV, next to it was a burnt building which looked very out of place.
More Pictures
We got back on the bus and headed for the airport. It wasn’t a long journey but I still decided to take a quick nap as the rest of the bus listened to the local tour guide for his last talk. He seems to really enjoy his job and i’m told he’s very good at it, I wouldn’t know, I don’t understand Cantonese so missed out on what seemed to be an enjoyable and funny series of talks.
The airport was busy, crawling with people. Me and Antonia had no idea where we were supposed to go so just followed the rest of the tour who seemed to know exactly where they was supposed to go.
More Pictures
We made our way to the check in desk to meet Victor who was sorting the check in process for everyone. There was a long queue here as everyone on the tour needed to check in. As we waited, Gordon came running up with something behind his back, a gift.
It wasn’t much but it was a nice gesture. Gordon’s mother came to talk with us after and thanked us for being kind to her son on the trip. I felt a bit sorry for Gordon as he tried to make friends with Cyrus, who was currently whizzing about the airport on a trolley, but was shot down and somewhat ignored. We finally got to the front of the check in desk, I checked in fine, Antonia, problems. Her new passport/visa which was issued when we got into Beijing was causing problems, the check in staff didn’t know what it was as it was so new but Victor came to the rescue, 10 minutes later and we were off through security then on the train to the departures lounge.
We did a bit of shopping in the duty free, I bought Antonia’s parents some chocolates and then we went to wait by the departure gate. While waiting I managed to find a free WIFI connection which kept me entertained while Antonia and Gordon played DS. It got closer and closer to the flights departure time but the gate still wasn’t opened, finally, 10 minutes late, the gate opened instantly forming a huge queue.
The queue was taking a long time to go down, it wasn’t until 5 minutes of waiting I realised it wasn’t going down. 10 minutes later the queue broke apart, looked like the flight was cancelled! I went to the front, trying to find out what had gone wrong, technical difficulties on the plane, great. We had to wait now, either the plane was fixed or we stay in Beijing another day. Thankfully, 45 minutes later the plane was ok and we was on our way back to Hong Kong.
Beijing was a lot of fun ,we managed to get so much done in the 5 days since we booked a package which included the flight, hotels, food and tour. I strongly suggest trying to get yourself on a tour similar to ours, it really cuts the planning needed and gets you to all the places you will most likely go.
Highlights for me was the Great Wall and the food. I will go back to Beijing to finish climbing the Great all, we only climbed a small portion of it and also didn’t go on the hillside slide. If you’re going to the Great Wall, you MUST wear shorts in heat or comfortable non-tight trousers otherwise you will have a difficult time climbing. The food on the trip was amazing, especially for an all inclusive package deal. The variety of restaurants was great, my favourites being the revolving restaurant for the view and the hot pot for the quality of food, the last meal with the show running in third but the food wasn’t that great.
Another highlight was the people on the tour. Despite being the only foreigner on the tour, everyone made the effort to make me feel welcome and included in the group. The families were especially kind to us as we took the time to entertain their kids. Cyrus, the crazy kid was a bucket of laughs, full of energy and funny catchphrases and of course, Gordon, the DS kid. It was nice to see that kid so happy as before we started playing DS, he looked quite alone and bored on the group. The tour guides were very cool, the local guide didn't speak english but he tried and was very funny and liked playing pranks, especially in pretending to not understand. The tour guide from Hong Kong was brilliant, any problems he sorted them for us. He suggested the best viewing places, gave me a lot of information in English, took lots of photos for us and even gave us an extra laminated group photo when the other members got one.
So if you’re ever in Hong Kong or planning a trip to China, don’t skip out on a trip to Beijing, give yourself at least 3 days if you don’t want to see everything and try to get more than one big tourist attraction done in a day otherwise you’ll spend more time than needed in one place.
Bye Bye, Beijing.
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 150 guests
