Beijing, China

We finally arrived in Beijing at 1:30am, and happily there was a driver to meet us. The fun started when we arrived at the hotel, which was fully booked until check-in time (midday). So we have spent a few hours on the sofa in the common area…obviously crossed wires…I did say we were coming early! So to while away a few hours we set out for Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City. We were amazed by the crowds of people lining up for the museum, Mao’s Memorial and the Forbidden City…even to cross the road in this part of town requires a queue…it’s very different to anything else we have experienced…and takes a bit of getting use to! We decided the picture of Mao would be as close as we would get to the memorial…the line just stretched on and on….it’s a Wednesday so I can’t imagine what a weekend crowd might be like. Today we spent quite a while trying to organise train tickets, some long distance had standing room only! We have two overnights but no sleepers available…just hard seat! We caught the subway to The Temple of Heaven and ambled around the tree filled park, watching dancing, exercising and various versions of soccer. It’s a beautiful collection of buildings, so decorative and symmetrical.