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The following and last ever travel blog takes place between 18th till 21st of June in Beijing.
After our last ever train journey of 17 hours from shanghai we made it in the nor I g through Beijing railway station passed their very own bullet train station. Following a mild series of metro trains we made ur to our accommodation at the Far East hotel in the very centre I Beijing about 20 minutes away from tinnamen square in the back streets.
After briefly showering and settling into our nice rooms we set out through the streets and tried the local breakfast of steamed bund with pork or beef in it. A very cheap meal at 1 yuan per piece. It was discovered by Charlie my blood was so hot and uneven I had developed a heat rash on my chin with brown showing. The cure was a cross of Chinese herbal tea and Chinese medicine and four days later results are promising. As we were guided to the tinnamen square we walked along the square and when in sight of the forbidden city we spent the whole morning in the hot sun ( no smog around) exploring and learning about the forbidden city and I'm told this experience is very good but the 1 day journey to the summer palace is better. After exploring the Orbison city we took the public bus to a cheap spicy noodle restaurant near the bell tower of Hutong. There our group split up. Te swedes took a rickshaw ride around hutong and the nhs physician did her own thing and myself and the 3 travellers explored the streets by the river and had a beer each on a rooftop terrace overlooking the streets of hutong.
Taking note of what Charlie out your leader had done fr all of us it was decided we would get him a farewell and thank you gift. Through the market after much over thinking we settled on a lighter and lighter fuel. I paid for the items as the travellers and swedes( who were in on it) paid me the money back from them. As it was late afternoon upon a suggestion from Charlie I took the public bus all by myself to the Beijing 2008 Olympic park for years later since it opened. I spent an hour and a half looking around at the birds neat and the aqua centre and as night came the buildings lit up in blue and red and it was a fantastic feeling after under a year since the London Olympics to be at another Olympic site and to be taken pictures with Chinese(something that happens a lot to western tourists). I truly wished I could have stayed for longer but due to timing and an early get up tomorrow I parted from the park after a series of pictures. Following a series of metro trains I made it back to the accommodation and relied on a macdonalds meal for supper( surprisingly fat food in china is far far cheaper then the UK and Kuwait to my surprise).
After that at 6.30 an in te hotel lobby the group had reunited officially with the German lawyer joining us from her other hotel and the Americans who were staying elsewhere I have more time in Beijing. We then got on a 2 hour bus ride to the Great Wall of china. Myself, the 3 travellers and the nhs physician walked up the steep stairs to the wall whilst the rest took the cable car. According to the Chinese if is said anyone who climbs the stairs to the Great Wall is a hero( something I rewarded myself with with a copper Fisk disguised medal as a souvenir () ) we spent and how and a half on one section of the great wall with Charlie explains I is about its purpose to keep the Mongolians out during the Ming and tang dynasties and tried bargaining with the people selling drinks along the wall. I successfully bargained a cold coke down from 10 yuan to 5 yuan to delight. After trekking along the wall we took chutes down the Great Wall through the greenery of the mountains. A very swift and quick transportation method. We then reunited again for a subways meal( second time) afterwards we room the bus back to Beijing to see the temple of heaven. A area used by the people in the many dynasty to pray for good harvest to the gods. Along the area we played a game of kick ups with a sand bag with three talented Chinese ladies that could have been football players in disguise!
After the long afternoon at the temple of heaven we returned to our hotel and then went out for a farewell dinner together at. Cheap restaurant for pengen duck and as a group we have Charlie a tip of money,( a way f showing generosity and appreciation o ones tour leader in the tourism industry in china) as we ate, drank and reminisced about our 3 week journey from Hong Kong to then together we shared out plans for after the end.
The American flew back to American for a friends wedding with their own one to follow in the fall outside New York, the German lawyer returned to work in Berlin as the swedes did back in Stockholm, Sweden. The nhs physician began a year of traveling around Asia and Australia and some work on the way, the 3 travellers spent another day in Beijing before onwards for 4 days in Malaysia and 3 weeks traveling in India. I will miss the group despite our age differences and choices to be in dependent at times front he group we always came together by fortune as Charlie believes ( the Chinese strongly believe in fortune). The time I had in china was very amazing and I do feel I need to return as despite what I've said in all the china blogs. Charlie's sums up our tour as only 20 percent and I feel there is so much more to explore after the Great Wall the terracotta warriors, cycling in the countryside, seeing the temple of heaven. And going through long train journeys.
The next day was a long day if trawl where I left the hotel early t 11 an and said goodbye to the 3 travellers and after an hour and a half on the metro made it to te airport and began a 13 hour flight journey with a 6 hour thai airlines flight from Beijing to Bangkok for a 4 hour stopover and a qatar airways flight from Bangkok to Doha in qatar. Then after another four hour stop over I took an hour and a halts flight from Doha to eventually return to Kuwait for a temporary 2 month stay to work relax and finish the book before leaving for good after 20 years for another country to call home.
In my time about china I've learnt more then one outside china could and it truly is a beautiful and remarkable country and definitely worth a visit( unless spicy food is not your taste and the concept of non spicy to Chinese is very mildly spicy but very hot!) I look forward to returning there one day and spend more time seeing the rest of Cambodia and Thailand, especially koh tao.
The last four months of exploring, travelling and interning across Asia has been a very great highlight for me and a learning experience where this is why gap years are very special to people. If ever anyone needs help advice or answers about doing china, Thailand or Cambodia I'm more then happy to chat.
I'd also like to end this blog with an important note that despite being an expat and not being primarily based in the UK do not take me as a younger incarnation of the fictional jay gatsby or non fictional Richard Branson as all that I have done in the last four months took two jobs for four months prior to achieve and even then midway through my travels I had to take out a loan and the inflation in china meant I had I drop out of certain activities because nothing ever goes 100 percent to plan or word and when traveling you must learn to adapt as anything can change rapidly.
Thank you ever so much for reading my blogs if any readers choose to and remain anonymous to me. I hope you have enjoyed and been entertained and if ever you feel inspired to tackle a similar journey across Asia I'm more then happy to chat as I said :).
Thank you for your time in reading the blogs.
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