BEIJING--PAGE ONE; OCT. 31, 2003

Friday continued: To Beijing Beijing is just west of due north from Shanghai. For most of the flight the skies were cloudy, although at one point I could see some rugged mountains off to the right. Not very high--perhaps 3000ft or so, but impressive. Soon we started our descent into Beijing. And, similar to when I landed in Shanghai, the air became a thick white haze. Yuck! My initial impressions of Shanghai's pollution turned out to be mistaken. I only hope the same is true for Beijing! The inside of the terminal building reminds me of the inside of an airplane wing. The roof line is supported by arches that have a sweep similar to the curve of a wing. The terminal appeared to be fairly new. In my walk from the gate to the ground transportation area I did not see much of the airport, but it had the feel of a very large and spacious structure. A week later, when I departed from Beijing, I realized that it really was not so spacious after all. I was not sure about the best way to get to the hotel. I knew the airport was northeast of and a long way from the center of town. I asked at a counter with a sign indicating that it had info regarding hotels and transport. I was told that they could send me in a deluxe car for 380RMG, or a regular car for 300RMB. I chose the regular car. As the attendant walked me out to the car and driver we went past the taxi line and I realized that I could have just taken a regular taxi. Oh well, too late now. I have already paid for my car. I wonder what the taxi fare would have been? The ride into town was long. The airport is served by a tree-lined expressway that would be very scenic if the air were more clear. The traffic is light at first, and we are speeding along at about 110kmh. Similar to the other big cities in mainland China that I have visited, the taxi drivers are aggressive drivers, tending to weave in and out of traffic. But generally the drive is not very exciting, and when we get into town and off of the expressway it is regular big city bumper to bumper traffic. About 45 minutes after we started we pull into the driveway of the Song He Hotel.

One of my internet friends in Beijing had suggested the Song He, and the travel agent in Shanghai had agreed that it was in a good location. Supposedly I am within walking distance of many of the sites, such as the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square, etc. Check-in is smooth once we get started. I stood at the counter waiting for a couple minutes, and I counted 8 young ladies behind the counter all bent over busily doing something or talking on the phone, but none of them could be bothered to acknowledge the person standing in front of them. It was rather odd, and the first time in Asia that I had seen such rather poor customer service. But soon I was on my room, and after getting an adapter plug for the computer, and info about how to access the internet from the room, I was happily set-up for the rest of my stay. The room itself was similar to my room in Shanghai--older, but quite adequate. Later I went outside and walked around the block. The area was quite different from where I had stayed in Shanghai. Here most of the buildings were older, and it was not as glitzy and shiny. There were at least 3 or 4 other hotels within the block, along with a mixture of stores and restaurants, including the ever present wedding photo shops. The weather was cool, at least 10 degrees cooler than Shanghai. Finally, the cool weather that I have been expecting! Nearing the end of my round trip I passed an old church with a plaza in front of it. There on the plaza, and the front steps of the church, were skate-boarders hopping up and down the stairs, just like teens back home! I got back to the hotel and watched some TV (the TV was a very nice new one). There were over 60 cable channels, including CNN Global, HBO, a Japanese network, and lots of Chinese language programs. At about 7:00 I went downstairs to see about dinner. I found that the 2nd floor offered a buffet dinner for 68RMB, and that sounded OK to me. The buffet was not as extensive as the Chinese buffets back home, but it was quite adequate, and I kept going back until I was satisfied. While I was still eating a young lady started paying the black baby-grand piano in the corner. She played a mixture of light popular and light classical. I could tell she was a bit out of practice. After I finished eating I went over to tell her that I appreciated her playing. Wenwen is her name, and she is a college student studying "the science of commodities" (whatever that is) at a local university. She took piano lessons when she was younger, but stopped when she started high school. Now she has this part time job (just Friday and Saturday evenings). She had been playing in April, but due to SARS she was laid-off until last week.  She agreed she was a little rusty. I spend the rest of the evening in the room, working on this journal, checking my email, calling my Beijing internet friends, and taking it easy. I am fighting a slight sore throat, and so I drink some hot tea, and take a couple aspirins. I hope I can beat this bug quickly!

My plane from Shanghai to Beijing

Large display above escalator  at Beijing airport

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Old Church near the hotel