beijing or bust

standing on the round altar at the temple of heaven where, if you whisper something, it is meant to be heard in heaven
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thankfully the tide has turned and we are happy travellers once again.  but before we get too carried away - just a little moan to get out of the way...

after loitering around the hotel for 4 hours we finally made our way to the station and, as you know, we weren't too sad to be leaving harbin.  we had a 12 hour journey ahead of us, but were optimistic, as we've enjoyed most of our train journies to date.  this time however, we had to share our cabin with two really lovely guys (father and son), and we couldn't fit our luggage into the usual compartments so cam came up with the bright idea of using one of our beds as a luggage storage and we could share the top bunk (being the loved up couple that we are).

it's amazing how chirpy and upbeat you can be with a full belly

tiananmen square
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what he didn't plan for was how we would fit *comfortably* on a bed that measured no more that 60cm wide and part suspended on the wall.  needless to say the 'loving' cuddles soon ceased and as we slowly boiled in the rising temperatures of the room - the realisation set in that it was to be a long and SLEEPLESS night. 

anyhow, we survived without coming too close to a divorce and it was a welcome relief to see the tour guide our uncle had kindly arranged for us, waiting outside on the platform at beijing station.  we pulled in at 7:07 (exactly.  the chinese are equally impressive to the russians with the amazing punctuality of their public transport system) and it was already heaving outside with people bustling backwards and forwards in preparation for the lunar new year.  our hotel is cushty (yay!) in fact i am updating this log from the comfort of our bedroom for a change and we are treated like z list celebrities, with a personal tour guide and chauffeur driven car!

old people playing hacky sack
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the difference in beijing is immediately apparent.  the fact that they are gearing up for the olympic games (human rights issues aside) means everyone is conversant in english and they don't start at foreigners as if you are something from outer space.  and the food.  wow, it's been something else to actually be eating and enjoying it again!  we had forgotten that simple pleasure (it's amazing how chirpy and upbeat you can be with a full belly - even on barely any sleep!)

today we've already been to the temple of heaven and tiananmen square.  it was really quite something else to be standing in the spot that you have seen in countless pictures and tv coverage.  it still seems a little surreal.  the square, we were told, could fit 10 million people in - but being a winter sunday, there may have been a few less!

the temple of heaven was awesome too.  everyday seems to be a big day out for the over 65s - groups of them are found either singing or dancing, playing harmonica or kicking a hacky sack around (with 5 or 6 of their equally nimble (and old) mates) and although they may be (in cam's words) close to 'knocking on heaven's door' themselves - if this is what heaven is like - it looks pretty fun!  they were also very warm and welcoming towards us too, which was nice.

there's a big day planned tomorrow, including a visit to the summer palace and forbidden city followed by an evening at some kung fu performance.  if today was anything to go by, things are certainly on the up again!